Deces Claves Luminibus
by Ivy J
Summary: Mere months after finally returning to the Destiny Islands, a strange and familiar visitor gives Sora a reason to go adventuring again, this time with those he loves most. But there's always a catch. Is the Keyblade needed now? Why? Upped to M. Soriku.
1. Chapter 1

Yeah, I'm writing again. Yay for me. No Starlights this time, though, or even Trek (gasp!). Instead, I'm writing the KH boys! Hopefully this WILL end up Soriku, although I'm not so great at the shounen-ai and yaoi stuffs. Well, that's what this is for, lol. Practice!

They don't seem out of character to **me**, but then again, I consistently suffer from artists'/writers' blind eye. Please point out discrepancies or OOC-ness, and it would be nice if you suggested changes, but please don't be mean about it XD. It's been a while since I submitted anything here...

There are so many people who insist on writing Sora as excessively childish. While it's not _bad _(I actually find it kinda cute, lol), it doesn't quite seem in-character to me. So I'm going to see if I can balance his frequent naïvety with a slightly more mature outlook. Shouldn't be too hard...I like to think _I'm _like that. XD

This fic assumes that each of the three games and the time between them all has taken about two and a half years, and although Sora wouldn't remember the events of Chain of Memories, time would have passed, so I figure he'd just assume he'd been asleep in that pod that whole time. I have not played CoM, but I have access to a fairly accurate storyline summary (Yeah for Wiki :D). Any errors are almost certainly mine, in any fact from any of the three games.

Oh, and forgive the title. I need to get back to Latin class...it's probably not grammatically correct. Then again, it's tentative. I'll probably end up changing it, so if you like the story, you should favourite it. Just to make sure you can find it again. Go ahead, translate the title if you want to (or can XD). Latin is one of the greatest languages in the world. I wanna learn Classical Greek. Just because.

**Kingdom Hearts and all the characters in it do not belong to me. They're copyrighted to Tetsuya Nomura, Square Enix and Disney.**

Gotta remember to put that when I _first_ upload next time...

Enjoy!

* * *

The Destiny Islands. 

An ominous name for such a peaceful place. So peaceful, in fact, that the calm and quiet had only been broken by a handful of storms in the past twenty years. The seasonal changes were signalled by a cooling of the tropical heat and gentle winter rains. No thunder and lightning threatened the towering, tree-sloped mountains, nor the homes nestled in the valleys.

Home to little more than 150 people, and with room for perhaps a hundred more, it was a tiny place, nestled in its little corner of the universe. The white sand beaches were places to relax, while the shaded palm forests and cool mountain caverns provided near-endless nooks for children to play at rescuing damsels and slaying dragons. For the teenagers, these groves offered shelter for secret trysts and games of "Truth or Dare" and "Spin the Bottle".

For a single trio of friends, the Destiny Islands were a refuge from everywhere they had been. Once, they had wished to see other worlds. Now they had realized that while their world was not the most exciting place, it was _theirs_, and that made it more precious to them than all the others out there. On their journeys, they had made many friends, but they had also made - and defeated - nearly as many enemies.

A young man slept in his room, in a bed positioned beneath a large window. As the sky clouded over, filtering away the light of the moon, so too did his face, his brow furrowing slightly in his sleep. His softly spiked brown hair ruffled slightly as the wind threaded its way into his room through his open window.

A soft moan escaped his lips, harmonizing with the tone of the now-whistling wind. As the flow of air over his bed ebbed away and then grew again, the door to the bedroom began to move. It slammed closed with a resounding bang, startling the sleeping teen so much that he sat straight up in bed, brilliant blue eyes snapping open in fear.

_'HeartlessRikuKairiKeybladeRaftIslandsOhNoIDon'tWantToGo!'_

Sora was halfway across the room from his bed before reality came rushing back. He gripped the back of his desk chair so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Without conscious thought on his part, the Keyblade had even materialized in his hand, so attuned to his energies that the momentary spike in adrenalin from his half-nightmare had pulled it from wherever it went when he wasn't using it.

The brunet teen spun his desk chair around, flopping into it with a heavy sigh and letting the Keyblade return to its interdimensional pocket. Nearly three years had passed since the day the Heartless had attacked his home. Since then, he has taken two different journeys to the Heart of the World, Kingdom Hearts, to keep it from being exploited, the second one ending just months before. First by the Heartless Ansem, then the Nobody Xemnas. Both had been shells of a brilliant, if entirely too ambitious young man named Xehanort, whose experiments with the heart and darkness had started this whole mess.

It was funny how he could still remember it all. Every battle with the Heartless and Nobodies. Fighting Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, Captain Hook and Oogie Boogie. His final battle with 'Ansem', who had possessed the body and heart of his best friend Riku. The locking of the door to Kingdom Hearts, with Riku and King Mickey on the other side...

"Sora?"

Speaking of Riku...

Sora turned around. Silver hair still tousled by slumber, Riku leaned up against the doorframe of Sora's bedroom door. His bright turquoise eyes, still half-lidded, were narrowed further as he regarded the other teen. "You okay?" He asked softly, canting his head.

Sora, Riku and Kairi now shared a home together. Kairi had pretty much always been an orphan, at least since the Heartless attack, and whether Riku's parents still existed or not was still a mystery to Sora. The brunet's mother, his only living family prior to the Heartless invasion, had not been seen since that day. Sora wasn't completely certain how he felt about that. Sure, he'd loved his mother, and he missed her now that she was gone, but somehow it was a relief not to have to explain what had happened in all the time he'd been away.

"Hello? Sora?"

The shorter teen shook his head, partly to clear his head and partly to relieve Riku's concern. "Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, staring off into space some more to prevent the silver-haired teen from reading the lie in his eyes. One aspect that seemed to be shared by the Keyblade bearers, or at least by Sora and King Mickey, was that they wore their hearts completely on their sleeves.

And in their eyes. And their body language...

Thus, it didn't matter where Sora was looking. Riku pulled another chair over and sat down in it backwards, propping his elbows up on the chair back and tilting his head to meet Sora's bright blue gaze with his own. "Are you sure?" He asked, raising silver brows.

Sora shifted uncomfortably, his gaze sliding up and to his left. His trying-for-careless expression shifted as well, to a sort of half-grimace. Riku couldn't help but chuckle softly. If there was one thing the brunet teen truly hated, it was being caught in a lie.

"C'mon, Sora. What's wrong?"

Sora shrugged a little. There was a long pause as Riku waited, knowing that the other teen just needed a little time to sort out his thoughts.

"I'm not sure, really." He replied finally. "Maybe it's just the storm. It's so similar to the...the night the Heartless attacked. And...I think I've been having weird dreams, too. I can't remember them, but every morning I've woken up with the adrenalin pumping. It's like something's coming, and I _know_ it's coming, but I don't know what it is or when it'll come. So I guess that just has me on edge. And tonight..." Sora turned to look out at the stormy black sky, looking distant. "I guess I'm just seeing the storm and relating it to 'something bad is going to happen'."

Suddenly, he laughed softly, turning back to Riku. "I'm just being silly, I guess. Storms are random. They don't always bring bad things."

Riku reached out and ruffled Sora's spiked hair affectionately. "That's true." He agreed. "But you should probably listen to those instincts of yours anyway. They're probably better than mine, and maybe even Kai-" He stopped suddenly, watching Sora. The brunet teen had suddenly sat straight up in his chair, looking out his window with a startled expression. "Sora? Are you spacing out on me again?"

"Did you hear that?"

Riku blinked. "Hear what?" He asked, puzzled.

"That shout. I just heard someone shout outside." Sora fidgeted a little. A sparkle of energy flickered near his hand, as if the energies of the Keyblade were fighting with the brunet's unconscious control over his weapon. Riku's thin silver eyebrows rose sharply as he eyed Sora rather critically.

"Do you want to go out there?" Riku knew, from long experience, that Sora would probably end up out there anyway, investigating until he found something or he convinced himself that he imagined it. _'Might as well go along too, just in case. I mean, it's not like I'm actually still _tired_ or anything.'_ He mused wryly. Glancing at the window, he saw the water pooling on the sill and realized it had actually begun to rain. He stood and walked over, tugging the window closed and saving Sora's bed from a thorough drenching.

While he had been distracted, Sora had risen to his feet, Keyblade in hand. The gold handle glistened softly as if lit from within, and the silver keychain twinkled softly in what little light there was. His lips quirked into a half-smile. "Just to be safe, I guess." He agreed. He knew just as well as Riku did that it would bother him until he got up off his ass and went out there. Riku nodded with a wry lip-twitch of his own, summoning the Way to Dawn in a flicker of soft grey light.

"We'll let Kairi sleep, for now." The silver-haired teen reasoned softly as the two of them crept down the stairs and to the door. As they slipped on shoes, Riku had the presence of mind to grab an umbrella. If they had to fight at all, it would be more of a hinderance than a help, but at least they could keep themselves dry before such a situation arose.

Or, at least _Riku_ could keep dry, seeing as Sora had walked straight out the door without a backward glance.

God, he could be completely and utterly maddening at times.

Closing the door against the rain, Riku looked around outside, tightening his grip on the umbrella so it wouldn't be wrenched from his grip by the wind. "Sora!" He called. "Sora, you idiot, you're gonna get soaked! Come back here!"

No answer, although in the light from a flash of lightning, the silver-haired teen caught sight of a trail of muddy depressions in the soil that could have easily been footprints. Soft curses escaped his lips as he followed the trail, keeping a lookout for the younger teen.

_'If he gets sick, it's entirely his fault.'_ Riku fumed, trudging through the mud. Hopefully he wouldn't, though. Sora had never been the best patient. "Sora!" He called again.

A good twenty minutes went by without a trace. Then, as he called Sora's name for probably the fifth or sixth time, Riku heard an answering shout. He looked up to see the brunet on the ridge, jogging down the slope to where he stood. A couple of feet away, Sora's foot skidded on the muck and he pitched forward. Instinctively, Riku grabbed ahold of his shoulders, keeping him from doing a complete faceplant in the mud.

"Did you find anything?" Sora asked, blue eyes wide as he righted himself. One silver brow arched as Riku eyed him sardonically.

"Other than you? No." He replied, letting the Way to Dawn disappear so he could take ahold of Sora's arm and pull him under the shelter of the umbrella. "What about you? Anything out of the ordinary?"

Sora shook his head. Now that he was out of the rain, his arms came up, crossing over his chest as he began to shiver. He looked sideways at the taller teen. "I guess th-this _was_ kinda a s-stupid idea, huh?"

Riku couldn't help but smile a little. "Yeah, kinda." He agreed, ruffling the sodden chestnut spikes of Sora's hair. "But we both know you wouldn't have been satisfied unless you came out here and checked for yourself. So now that you've checked, let's head home. You're going to catch a cold or something if you stay out here much longer."

Sora nodded, fighting to keep his teeth from chattering. Despite the relatively warm air, he was freezing. "C-C'mon."

The two of them hurried back to their little house, keeping an eye out as they picked their way down the trail. They reached home without incident, although Sora had frequently looked around and behind them as if expecting something to jump out and yell "Ooga booga boo!". Somehow, he felt like he'd spent too much time in Halloween Town...

With the wind at their backs, Riku fought to open the door, then fought to keep it from slamming shut as they hurried inside. Looking down at his sopping wet pyjama pants and t-shirt, Sora gave a sheepish chuckle. "I guess I should p-probably go change, huh?"

Riku gave him an up-and-down glance, looking rather amused. "Probably a good idea." He agreed, setting the umbrella down. "I think I'm going to try and whip up some cocoa or something. You want a cup?"

Sora grinned. "Yeah, sure. I'll come back down, then, once I dry off." He replied, creeping up the stairs so as not to wake Kairi. Grinning too, Riku slipped his shoes off and went into the kitchen to see what he could find.

* * *

The brunet teen came back down in dry clothes about ten minutes later and was greeted by the scent of warm milk and chocolate. Riku sat on the living room couch, already sipping a softly steaming mug. He lifted his head when he heard Sora's footsteps and nodded towards the kitchen. "Yours is on the counter." He told him. Pulling a U-turn, Sora picked his mug up off the kitchen counter and took it into the living room, sitting on a chair. He took a first sip from the cup in his hands and hummed softly. 

"This is good." He commented. Riku grinned over his mug.

"I guess I'm not hopeless in the kitchen either. Maybe between Kairi and I, we can teach you not to blow anything up." He teased softly. Sora stuck his tongue out at the silver-haired teen, looking slightly miffed.

"I didn't blow anything up..." He muttered, sitting back. "Won't you ever let me forget that? It's not like it was a huge mistake."

Riku's smile broadened. "No, it wasn't, but to watch you react whenever one of us mentions it is rather amusing." He admitted. Sora just pouted, folding his arms over his chest, causing Riku to chuckle.

The two young men sat in silence for a little while, sipping at the mugs in their hands. When his was nearly empty, Sora set it aside, leaning back against the back of the chair. "Hey, Riku?"

Riku blinked, raising his head to look at the brunet teen. "Yeah?"

"D'you think it's really all over?"

The silver-haired teen took a moment or two to think about that. "I don't know." He admitted finally. "It'd be nice if it was, although, to be perfectly honest, I'd love to hijack that Gummi Ship and go around to all those worlds you visited. I managed to see some of them, but while you were still asleep in that pod, I was pretty much stuck harassing your Nobody...that Roxas kid. And then...after the darkness took over again...I sorta operated on autopilot for a while, I suppose, so I don't remember a lot. I do remember that city with the Emperor...telling him about that gigantic Heartless that had just popped out of the mountains."

"The Land of Dragons? Mulan's world?" Sora asked, interested. "D'you remember fighting me?"

Riku blinked at that, although he took a couple of minutes to think before he responded. "Kind of." He admitted. "On the mountain, right? With all the little yellow flying Heartless?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah, I sort of remember that fight. And then you called my name, and I ran. I didn't want you to see what I'd had to do to beat Roxas. Besides, you wouldn't have recognized me anyway." He chuckled. "After that, I don't remember a lot until I ran into Kairi. That would have been in the World that Never Was."

Sora nodded, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the arm of the chair and propping his chin up on his hands. "It'd be fun to travel to all those worlds again...see how Mulan and the Beast, and everyone else are doing. I'd even like to see Disney Castle again, while it's not crawling with Heartless." He thought for a moment or two, looking distant. "I wonder if the Beast is still the Beast. And I wonder what Belle calls him if he's back to being a prince."

"Perhaps his name?" Riku suggested, one brow quirked slightly.

Sticking his tongue out at Riku, Sora made a face. "You know what I mean."

The silver-haired teen sighed a little. "I wish I could have been travelling with you. I think I could have even put up with those weird friends of yours to see all those other worlds."

Sora grinned. "Donald and Goofy, Riku." He suddenly began to snicker, clapping his hand over his mouth to stifle the noise. Riku blinked at him, surprised.

"What's your problem, Sora?"

Sora laughed helplessly for a few moments more before he managed to get ahold of himself. "It's just...I suddenly imagined what you would have looked like if you'd been with us at the Pride Lands. It was pretty funny."

"Why?" Riku canted his head, intrigued. "How would I have been...different?"

The brunet squeezed his eyes shut, on the verge of another laughing fit. "There are no humans in the Pride Lands. So I couldn't exactly walk around as a human. Donald changed us all into animals so we could fit in better. If you'd been there, you probably would have ended up a lion cub, just like me."

Riku's brows rose, and a surprised grin lit up his features. "You were a _what_?" He gave a short, surprised laugh. "A _lion cub_?"

Sora shrugged, turning his palms upward as if to say 'Oh well', still grinning. "Lions are basically the humans of the Pride Lands. I guess I was too young to have been turned into a fully-grown lion, so I was a cub instead."

Riku chuckled and started to reply, but was cut off by a rather large yawn. "It's getting really late, Sora. How about we go upstairs and go to bed, and you can tell Kairi and I about your four-footed adventures tomorrow?"

Nodding, the brunet stood, grabbing his cup and taking it to the sink. "That's a deal." He yawned too, turning towards the stairs. Riku caught up with him, slinging an arm over the shorter teen's shoulder.

"So...what else did you have to turn into while you were off adventuring?"

Sora laughed. "Well, Atlantica's underwater..."

* * *

A friend of mine, while proofreading my hard copy, complained that Riku was 'too nice'. XD Don't worry, guys. He hasn't gone completely soft. Hold out on me, 'kay? 

Love to all who've read even just this far.

**Ivy J. (previously Kou-chan or Kou Taiki-san)**


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to my reviewers! Cookies for all!

SuperFriendlySoraFan203 - Yeah, I always wanted to see lion-cub Riku. Damn it, it'd be so cute, lol. I'd want a plushie.

REIzor Image - I'm seriously wondering if there was supposed to be more to that review you left me. ;-;

This chapter is short TT-TT. And I'm not quite happy with it. This is just all beginning stuff, though. Once we get into the actual story, the chapters will get longer. They have to. Otherwise, I'm still gonna be writing this in three years, the way I have it planned. Yes, there is a plan :D. Mwahahahaha!

Love-love!

* * *

Sora woke to the early morning sunlight shining through the window above his bed. He yawned, turning over, but the golden light had already roused him enough that he couldn't get back to sleep. Oh well. He could try.

He crossed his arms under his head, propping his chin up on them. Closing his eyes, he brought himself back to the fight with that giant Heartless that had attacked the Destiny Islands. Somehow, even though that fight had scared him to death and had ripped apart his home, flinging him across space to Traverse Town and separating him from his friends and family, he didn't want to forget it. He didn't want to forget any of it. Not the people he met, or the places he went, or the things he did in those places. If he didn't forget it, he would never, ever take his home or his friends for granted again.

With a sigh, Sora turned back over and sat up, looking around his room. Various clothes were strewn all over the floor, and comics and other books were stacked in precariously balanced piles on his desk. In other words, it looked just like a normal teenage boy's room should. He ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling it a little. It had still been damp when he'd gone to bed, so some of the spikes had probably been flattened by his movements while he slept. Rising up to sit on his knees, he looked out his window, pleased to see that the storm had cleared almost completely. A few lingering clouds sat on the horizon, but all in all it looked to be a beautiful day.

Standing, the brunet teen stretched a little, reaching for the ceiling of his room. A deep breath blew from his lips as he walked out of his room and down the stairs.

"Good morning, Sora."

Sora looked up, only to meet a pair of blue eyes only a touch darker than his own. "Oh. Hey, Kairi." He grinned. "I should've figured you'd be up already."

The redhead was already dressed in a tank top in a pale shade of pinkish-purple and a white skirt patterned in light blue and pink flowers that just brushed the tops of her knees. She stood in the kitchen, a slice of toast in her hand and a knife in the other. She giggled softly, setting the knife down on her plate. "Of course, you lazy thing. It's nearly ten o'clock. Riku's up too...he's out in back."

Sora stuck his tongue out at her, spurring Kairi's soft laughter again. He then walked past the kitchen door and settled down in the same chair he'd been sitting in the night before. "What've we got to eat, Kairi?" He asked.

"Well, we've got bread for toast. Some of that mixed fruit jelly. There are cereals in the pantry...I'm not sure what kinds we have in there." The redhead's cheerful voice came from the kitchen. Sora's gaze lifted to the ceiling as he tried to narrow down what he wanted.

"What's her name?"

Sora was dragged from his thoughts by Riku's bemused voice. The silver-haired teen had come in the back door and was now sitting on the couch, watching Sora. "What?" He asked, puzzled. "Whose name?"

"The girl you looked like you were daydreaming about." The older teen teased. He was instantly rewarded by a pale red blush spreading over the brunet's cheeks.

"I'm not thinking about a girl!" He protested. Riku's eyebrows rose at that.

"Oh?"

Sora folded his arms in front of his chest and leaned back against the back of the chair, pouting slightly. "I wasn't thinking about anyone. I was thinking about what to have for breakfast." He huffed. Riku couldn't help but chuckle.

"Of course. I should have known. Your only love is your stomach." He replied, grinning. The front doorbell rang, distracting Sora from his comeback for a moment.

"You're an ass, Riku." The brunet pouted, but he couldn't quite help the amused twitch of his lips as his silver-haired friend let out a surprised laugh. Most people tended to have a similar reaction when they first heard Sora swear. It just didn't quite seem to fit. He didn't do it often, so it had more of an effect when he did.

Kairi laughed as the boys in the living room continued to banter. She headed to the door to answer the bell, seeing as neither Sora nor Riku looked the least bit interested in answering it. It rang once more before she reached forward and took ahold of the doorknob, pulling the door open.

There stood Tidus and Wakka, with a third young man draped over their shoulders. Tidus grinned at her, sheepishly. "Hey, Kairi. Hope we didn't wake anyone." He chuckled a little. "Is Sora home?"

Kairi blinked, blue eyes wide as she took in the three boys. "Of course he's home, Tidus. And no, you didn't wake anyone up." Turning, she called back into the living room. "Sora! Can you come here for a moment?" Her call was answered by a shuffling as Sora got to his feet and came into the front hall.

"What's up, Kairi?" Sora asked. She didn't need to answer, however, as the brunet's blue gaze drifted past her to the kid being supported by Tidus and Wakka. Short, dark blond hair spiked over the young man's scalp in complete disarray. His skin was pale, except for a raging red sunburn on his back visible under the collar of the white short-sleeved button-down he wore. Khakis clad his slim legs, still damp and salt-crusted from the sea. He appeared to be asleep or unconscious, not moving or responding at all as the youths talked around him.

"We threw a shirt on him...his back is pretty badly burned. We think he might have washed up sometime during or after that huge storm last night." Tidus explained to Kairi, as Sora didn't seem to be listening, staring at the newcomer with a startled expression on his face.

"We brought 'im here 'cause he asked 'bout you, Sora." Wakka clarified, before either Sora or Kairi could say a word. "We figured he was a friend of yours."

As Riku came into the front hall to investigate what had happened, Sora walked forward. He leaned down, trying to get a good look at the blond's face. "Did he say his name?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. As if the sound of Sora's voice roused him, the blond's eyes suddenly opened. He lifted his chin a little, until his gaze could meet the brunet's.

His eyes were exactly the same bright, searing blue Sora's were.

A weak smile bloomed on his face. His voice was a little raspy, as if it'd been years since he used it, but when he spoke, his words rocked Sora's world.

"Hey there...other..."

Sora took an involuntary step back, his eyes wide and round. All the colour had drained from his face. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible.

"Roxas?!"

Riku's eyes narrowed as the name reached his ears. He stood behind Kairi, watching warily as Sora blanched and stumbled back like he'd been hit. When someone outside yelled for Wakka, though, the silver-haired teen stepped forward.

"Go on, Wakka. We've got this handled." He flashed the blitzball player a bright, insincere grin as he took Roxas' now-unsupported side. Wakka hesitated a moment longer, but another shout decided for him and he ran off. Riku glanced over at Tidus, giving him the same false smile. "C'mon, Tidus. We've got a spare room upstairs...he can rest there, for now."

Sora watched, stunned, as Riku and Tidus fairly carried his Nobody up the stairs to the spare room. _'Where did he come from?! I thought he disappeared...and...became part of me again! How can he exist if I do?!'_

Kairi came up behind him and touched his shoulder. "Sora?" She called softly, as if not expecting him to really hear her. "Are you okay?"

"How can he be here?!" The brunet was thoroughly freaked out by now, unsure as to what was going to happen now. He wasn't afraid of Roxas...from the couple of seconds that he had talked to his Nobody before the battle with Xemnas, he'd thought the blond was a nice guy, but the problem was that Roxas was only supposed to be around if Sora had recently been turned into a Heartless. Did his appearance now mean that the brunet was going to go back to being a Heartless?

Tidus came back down the stairs after a few moments. "Hey, Sora? He wants to talk to you. Riku's still up there." He leaned closer, lowering his voice a little. "Somehow I don't get the feeling he likes that kid too much."

Letting Kairi say goodbye to Tidus, Sora headed up the stairs and into the spare room. Riku sat on a chair across the room from the bed, wary turquoise eyes fixed on Roxas. The blond lay on his stomach on the bed, hands crossed under his head. When Sora walked in, he propped himself up on his elbows so he could look around better.

"How did you come back, Roxas? I mean..." He paused for a moment, trying not to blurt out the first thing that came to mind. He was pretty bad at that. "Don't I need to be...well..."

Roxas' lips twitched slightly. "To be honest, Sora, I'm not sure." He admitted softly. "I woke up on the beach late last night. I'm not sure how I got there, or where I came from. I guess I must have passed out, because when I woke up again, those two guys were standing over me. I'm glad I ran into someone who knew you, at least."

"Luckily." Sora couldn't help the twitch of his own lips.

"But there's something you should know, Sora." He turned over, pulling himself into a sitting position. "I don't know how it happened, or why, but...I feel things now. More than I ever did while I was living in that alter-Twilight Town, or even what little I still remember about being a member of Organization XIII. It's different. I...I think, somehow, I have my own heart. I'm a Somebody, now."

Roxas looked thrilled by this, but a cutting remark from Riku sobered him instantly.

"I wonder who you had to steal that one from, Roxas."

"Riku!" Sora was stunned, although he realized the silver-haired teen had a point. Still, that had been _mean_, even for Riku, who could really be a jerk if he ever wanted to.

Roxas looked over at Riku, deep blue eyes remorseful. "Look, Riku, I know you and I didn't really get off to the greatest start. Perhaps if we'd been willing to talk instead of beating on each other, we might have realized we were working towards basically the same goal. That's as much my fault as it is yours. I'm sorry."

A scoff leapt from Riku's lips. "Mighty big of you."

Roxas shook his head, sensing that Riku was not in the mood for his apology. He turned back to Sora. "Look, I understand what Riku's saying, and he _does_ have a point. I have no idea where or who this heart came from. But I'd really like to find out...to make sure I'm not existing on borrowed time again. I don't know who could tell me, but that was part of the reason why I felt I should find you. One, to make sure you were still around, and two, because I was hoping you could help me." He lifted his head, meeting Sora's eyes with his own.

"Sora, will you help me find out where this heart came from?"

* * *

Like, OMG Roxas! 'heart'

Not the greatest line on Roxas' part, I know. TT-TT I'm sorry, Roxy. They get better after this, though, I swear! 'cowers'

Love and hugs!

**Ivy. J**


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to my reviewers! 'heart' I love you guys! 'gives out more cookies'

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: Yeah, I would be too. That's why he freaked out, lol. Yay Roxas -. I just had to include him. I luff Roxas so.  
Rose93Darkness: Keep reading. There's plenty more where this came from -  
REIzor Image: Yay! Glad to know you liked it and you weren't just, like, teasing me or something. Yeah, can be annoying like that. It's done that to my reviews a couple of times. TT-TT

These chapters are getting shorter. TT-TT But the next one is longer. This is just kinda an in-betweener.

I'll be updating weekly or so, if I can. I'm about three ahead with pre-written chapters...hopefully I can _stay_ that far ahead. Y'know, schoolwork and stuff can get in the way. But I'll do my best, guys! 'heart'

* * *

Night fell on the Destiny Islands. The stars came out, and they and the shining moon lit up the darkened sky. The whole community settled down to sleep.

Except for a certain moody silver-haired teen.

Riku rinsed and placed the dishes in the dishwasher, the muscles in his back and shoulders so tight that they hurt. Before he went to bed, he would go out into the clearing behind the house and drill with the Way to Dawn, guarding, thrusting and striking against imaginary Heartless and Nobodies to loosen those clenched muscles. But for now, he would have to content himself with small stretches in the confines of the kitchen. Doing the dishes was mindless work, but he needed something to keep him busy, and they needed to be done, so it all worked out. He bent down, pulling the bottom rack out and setting plates in it.

"Hey, Riku?"

Riku lifted his head to look. There stood Sora, in his usual baggy pyjama pants and t-shirt. He wore a slightly meek expression on his face, as if expecting Riku to do something drastic like hit him or yell at him. One of Riku's silver brows quirked slightly. "Sora, I'm not mad at you." He sighed, straightening up.

"You don't like him at all, though, do you?"

"I don't have to." Riku turned away to grab another stack of plates and rinse them off one by one. He heard a sigh behind him and heard Sora lean up against the other counter.

"Riku, I'm going to go with him. We can send a message to King Mickey and ask him if we can use the Gummi Ship. It's possible the King was the one who did this, and so we only have to go there and talk to him. But Roxas needs to know where this heart came from, and I need to go with him because he and I are still connected. He may not be my Nobody anymore, but I feel like I should be with him anyway." Sora tried to meet Riku's turquoise eyes with his blue ones, pleading with the taller teen to understand.

Riku set down the dishes he held and pressed his hands against the counter, letting out a slow, breathy sigh. He was very clearly agitated. "Sora, think about this for a minute. What if you don't come back again?" He took another deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to keep himself in check. "I mean, what if he's screwing with you? Just trying to get you alone somewhere so he can overpower you and turn you into a Heartless so he can have your heart?"

"Why must you always be such a pessimist?" Sora demanded. "I _know_ he isn't, Riku. Don't you trust me? D'you really think I'm _that_ naïve?"

Oh boy. What a couple of loaded questions.

Riku shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. "Don't be stupid, Sora. Of course I trust you. It's _him_ I don't trust. And sometimes it's hard for you to see deceit. I just..." He trailed off for a moment. "I don't want you ending up lost again, okay? Not only because I'd be losing my best friend, but because of what I had to do to help you come back the first time." His voice softened a little as he turned back to the shorter teen. "There won't be some miracle heart shower to turn me back into me this time. If I have to welcome the darkness back again, it'll be for good this time. And if I stayed here again after, I'd put our whole world in danger again." His hands dropped to his sides, and his frustration drained away. "I don't want that to happen."

There was silence for a couple of minutes as Sora took in his friend's mini-tirade. "I..I guess I understand what you mean." He relented. After a few moments, though, his attitude brightened again. "Then come with us!"

Riku suddenly stopped moving. Turning, he raised his head to look at Sora. His turquoise eyes were filled with a mixture of shock and hope. "What?" He asked numbly, as if sure he hadn't heard right the first time.

"I know you and Roxas will probably fight a lot, and I know you're not too fond of Donald and Goofy, but why not? You're a Keyblade wielder. You have as much right to travel as I do. I'm sure King Mickey would love to see you again. We can take Kairi along too. This'll be that adventure we always wanted to take together!" Sora smiled brightly, banishing his glooms with the thought.

A grin spread over Riku's face. "You're serious, right? You really want us to come?"

Sora blinked, canting his head slightly. "Why would I want to take another adventure without my very best friends?" He asked. "You and Kairi were the ones who inspired me to want to travel, but you never really did yourselves. That doesn't seem very fair to me."

The silver-haired teen turned away, lifting his head to look up towards the ceiling. "You know, Sora, part of the reason I didn't want you to go was that you'd be off on another adventure. I'd be stuck here while you were off travelling again...at least, until you got in trouble and needed me to save your sorry ass." He looked back at the brunet, grinning. "And this way, if Roxas turns out to be screwing you over, you'll have backup nearby."

"Then this solves everything!" Sora grinned.

Riku reached forward, ruffling Sora's hair. "Yeah, it does. Kinda makes me wish I'd thought of it before getting all worried." He mused aloud, wistfully.

"Aww, Riku, were you really that worried about me? You know I can take care of myself." Sora teased.

The silver-haired teen laughed. "Well, someone has to do it. You're never worried about yourself. You're always worrying about everyone else."

"Not _always_." The brunet protested. He put his hands behind his head in his trademark pose. "Anyway, it's gonna be great, travelling around with you and Kairi. Every time I saw something new and exciting, I always wished I could tell you about it, or be able to turn around and ask you your opinion, even though yours at least would usually be something cynical or sarcastic."

Smirking, Riku looked down his nose at the shorter teen. "Seems to me, Sora, that you could benefit from the presence of a cynic. You're too damn trusting. Maybe some of my cynicism will rub off on you." He closed the dishwasher and stretched, realizing the muscles in his back hadn't yet relaxed. "Hey, listen. I was gonna go out in back and work with my Keyblade a little before I went to bed. Since you're up, d'you want to have a match? Like we used to with those dinky little wooden swords?"

The brunet grinned. "Just like old times, huh? Sounds like fun." He agreed. "C'mon. But, just in case, let's use the flats of our Keyblades. That way, we won't end up really hurting each other by accident."

Riku nodded. "Makes sense."

Pulling his Keyblade out of nowhere, Sora ran out the back door, followed by his silver-haired friend. Riku blew past him into the darkness, whipping out the Way to Dawn and making it streak past Sora's face. The brunet stopped in surprise, flicking the Kingdom Key up a moment too late.

"Too slow, Sora!" Riku taunted him. "I would have slashed you across the face if I'd been an enemy!"

"If you'd been an enemy, I wouldn't have let you get that close!" Sora retorted. Riku laughed.

"C'mon, Sora. Show me the skills you learned from battling all those Heartless!"

The two boys were mostly evenly matched. While Riku was taller, slightly faster and had a longer reach, Sora had more experience and magic, as well as a variety of Keyblades he could call on if he needed. To keep it fair, though, he kept to the Kingdom Key and mostly didn't bother with his magic. A well-timed Reflect spell kept him from getting too far behind in points when Riku decided to start ducking around behind him and striking at his back.

"Hey, Sora! That's cheating!" Riku protested, as the Way to Dawn bounced off the shield that had formed at Sora's back.

The brunet grinned at him over his shoulder. "We never agreed not to use magic." He countered, whipping around to strike at Riku's shoulder while the silver-haired teen was distracted. Riku blocked a breath too late, causing the Kingdom Key to glance off the Way to Dawn, but at the same time making the gold and silver key slip off his guard and thwhack him quite soundly on the head.

Sora, startled, dropped his Keyblade as Riku stumbled back and sat down hard, shaking his head. "Oh, shit!" His hands leapt to his mouth to stifle himself as the curse slipped out. "Sorry, Riku!" He knelt down in front of the taller teen. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Riku lifted his hand to his head, rubbing the abused spot gingerly. "That _hurt_."

"Maybe we should stop now." Sora rubbed his own head, grinning sheepishly. "I think we're both getting too into it...one of us is really going to get hurt if we aren't careful. Even if we're just using the flats."

Riku rubbed at his head for a couple of seconds more before getting to his feet. "Maybe." He admitted, standing. He stretched a little, no longer feeling the tension in his back. Just before he put the Way to Dawn away, though, he held it over Sora's head and carefully whacked him back. "There. Now we're even." He grinned, as Sora flinched and touched his head. The brunet couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, okay. C'mon, before we end up in an all-out war." He knelt down and grabbed the Kingdom Key, letting it vanish in a shaft of white light, and headed for the back door.

"Hey, Sora?"

Sora paused at the doorstep, looking back at Riku. "Yeah?"

Riku took a moment to consider his words. "If we're going to be travelling together, I'll try not to deliberately pick a fight with Roxas. I'm not going to go out of my way to be nice to him, but I won't insist on being an asshole either, okay? I know you don't like it when people fight."

Sora smiled. "Thanks, Riku."

He shrugged that off; no thanks necessary. "I'm going to head up to bed. When are you going to send that message to the King?"

"Probably some time tomorrow." The brunet replied, after a moment's consideration.

"Okay. It should take a day or two at least for us to get his response. That gives us some time, still." Riku sighed a little. "G'night, Sora."

"'Night, Riku."

Sora watched the silver-haired teen climb the stairs. A soft smile bloomed on his face as he thought ahead, to this next adventure. What would their travels bring this time?

* * *

I just had to make Riku get thwacked on the head, lol. I think it's payback for all those times he kicked my ass on my KH1 file. 

Now I need to get off and start working on the formal lab report I'm supposed to have in for Biology tomorrow TT-TT. I don't _like_ lab reports. They're icky.

Ah well. I have this fic to look forward to 'heart'.

Love-love!

**Ivy J.**


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, guys! Chapter 4 here!

I honestly thought it was longer. ;-; But the Document Manager is telling me it's only 1800+ words. ;-; I swear, they do get longer! They do! -spaz-

The beginning of this chapter was a seriously fun challenge. Trying to be serious while writing as two talking mice. I was sitting in second period, writing this while I was supposed to be working, doing my best to write Minnie and Mickey in character. I think I pulled it off pretty well, lol.

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: Yes, Riku doing the dishes, lol. He had to be doing _something_, and the dishes are seriously mindless work. Especially if you have a dishwasher, lol. I actually do a lot of planning for this fic while doing the dishes at night...I think that's where I got the idea. XD

Rose93darkness: Nicely detailed? I kinda felt like it was sorta...not really vague...but not _really_ detailed...myself...Oh well. Thanks anyway! -heart-

REIzor Image: To be perfectly honest, I was actually thinking all the way back to the matches on the Islands, lol. But yeah, the fight at Hollow Bastion was annoying for me too. And I seriously loved writing all the interaction. I do love Soriku...and it's not even technically 'Soriku' yet. XD.

May I present: Chapter 4! -cookies for all-

* * *

_Your Majesty King Mickey,_

_Could you possibly consider letting us borrow the Gummi Ship? We need to talk. Something's come up, and it's probably best talked about face-to-face. It's not __bad__, so don't worry. It's just...kinda weird. _

_Please say hello to everyone there for us!_

_Sora

* * *

_

Mickey stood by the window, a sheet of paper in his hand. The note was simple and written in a carefree manner, typical of the brunet Keyblade master.

But it still worried him.

"Mickey?"

The mouse king sighed a little. "Hello, Minnie." He greeted her without turning around.

Queen Minnie came up behind him, putting a gloved hand on his shoulder. "Is it bad news?" She asked, her squeaky voice hushed with concern. Mickey shrugged a little, looking down at the note.

"Not by itself." He assured her. "But somehow, whatever's happened on the Destiny Islands, it worries me anyway." He turned to his Queen. "I'm gonna go with them again, Minnie. Somethin's tellin' me that I'm gonna be needed."

Minnie hugged him, knowing it was useless to argue. "Be careful, Mickey." She pleaded. "I don't want to constantly be worrying this time. And please, don't take a year to come back again. Will you promise me that?"

"Aww, Minnie." Mickey rubbed the back of his head, almost sheepishly. "I'll be careful. And I'll do what I can to come back quickly. You know Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy. They won't let anything happen to me. You trust them, don't you?"

"Of course I do, Mickey. But I'll worry just the same. Will you write the way you did before?"

Mickey chuckled a little. "I know you will. And of course I will. Jiminy's gone back to watch over Pinnochio, so I'll need someone here keepin' track of our adventures. We want to make sure future Keyblade Masters have somethin' to read if they need it." He touched his nose to hers gently. "I'll go talk to Chip and Dale. We need to get the Gummi Ship ready."

The pink-clad mousette watched as the King of Disney Castle left the room. She sighed, clasping her hands in front of her, and raised her gaze to the ceiling.

_'Please, Mickey. Stay safe.'_

* * *

"Hey, it's a reply from King Mickey!" 

Sora looked up from the bowl of soup in front of him as Riku set down a roll of paper, sealed with a wax Mickey symbol. The brunet nudged his dinner to the side, careful not to spill any, and snatched up the letter, breaking the seal and unfurling it.

_Sora,_

_We'll see you soon. Meet us at the Keyhole._

_Donald, Goofy and Mickey._

"They're on their way!" Sora confirmed, a wide grin spreading over his face. "If they haven't upgraded the Gummi Ship recently, it should take a day or so for them to get here."

"Good. That'll give us time to figure out a story for everyone, so they won't wonder why we're gone." Riku commented, coming around the table. When Sora glanced up at the silver-haired teen, he saw Riku's turquoise eyes scanning the few lines of the note. "Does that mean the King's coming too?"

"I don't know. Probably." Sora shrugged a little. "It's better this way, anyway. We can find out right away whether the King has anything to do with you getting a heart, Roxas." He grinned at the blond, who responded with a half-smile.

"That's true." Riku thought about that for a moment, setting his empty bowl in the sink. "But if he does, what does that mean? Are we not going to end up going anywhere?"

"Somehow, I don't think all this happening at once is a coincidence." Kairi admitted. "There has to be some sort of reason for this. To me, it seems like this is all part of something more complex, and we're needed for it. We probably play a bigger part in this than we understand."

There was silence for a few moments as everyone considered that

"You know, Kairi, that sounds right to me." Sora commented. Roxas nodded, looking a little thoughtful.

Riku chuckled softly. "You're a lot more perceptive than we tend to give you credit for, aren't you, Kairi?" The silver-haired teen teased gently. Kairi grinned at him.

"No, you silly boys just get too caught up in your conclusions and theories to step back and look at it logically." She replied, a light dancing in her eyes. "Roxas, if you exist as a Somebody now, when you didn't before, it means you were meant to. There's a reason behind that. When we figure out what that reason is, maybe we'll have some answers. Until then, we need to follow this path in front of us to where it ends."

"So, I guess it's another job for the Keyblade Masters." Sora grinned lopsidedly. "It never truly ends, does it?"

Riku raised an eyebrow, glancing his way. "That'd be too easy, Sora." He told the brunet, rather sardonically. Sora nudged Riku's side with an elbow. Riku gently pushed the side of Sora's head in retaliation.

"Guys, come on. It's late. If the Gummi Ship is going to be here tomorrow, we should really get to sleep or something." Kairi fisted her hands squarely on her hips, looking a tad miffed, as Sora and Riku started to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Kairi, it's like the night before your birthday, or Christmas. We're never going to get to sleep, we're too excited." Riku couldn't help but chuckle. "It has to be some sort of law of psychology by this point."

Sora laughed. "Yeah, sorry, Kairi. You know that as well as we do. Or you should."

Kairi tried to keep looking stern. She really did. But the boys' laughter was infectious, and pretty soon she was giggling too. "Okay, you're right. You win. But I had to try it, at least."

"Maybe we should just all curl up on the couch and the chairs and talk." Roxas suggested tentatively. He still wasn't used to speaking among the three of them...he felt like he was intruding on their friendship or something. "I mean, if we all know we aren't going to get to sleep, what's the point in trying? We should make it a party instead...kinda..." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, gaze fixed on his lap, suddenly feeling a little foolish in the way he'd said it. Somehow it sounded rather...kiddy.

"You know, Roxas, I think that's a great idea." Sora grinned at him. "How do you guys like that?"

Riku shrugged a little, looking indifferent, although no one truly expected any more than that. Kairi smiled. "Sure. It's not like we probably wouldn't have ended up down here talking anyway."

* * *

The next morning, the four teens found themselves gathered in the cave beneath the mountain, standing before the silver door that concealed the Keyhole to the heart of the Destiny Islands. Despite having gotten to sleep rather late due to anxious conversations and just general excitement, every one of them, even Sora, had woken at daybreak. 

After about a half an hour, during which there were several different whispered conversations between all four of them, a trio of white circles blossomed into existence on the sandy floor, which grew into columns of light before dissipating. Three figures were left behind.

"Hyuk, hey Sora!"

"Goofy! Donald!" Sora grinned, laughing as he practically got bowled over by the gangly dog-creature and the duck. The three tumbled to the ground and, due to the fact that any one of them trying to stand was quickly knocked over by a foot or a hand, rolled around, trying to at least sit up. Kairi giggled, kneeling to help.

King Mickey watched all this with a smile, standing away from them so he wouldn't get toppled as well. Riku carefully picked his way around the heap on the ground and walked over to the mouse king, kneeling down so he could be close to the same level as him. "Hello there, Your Majesty."

Mickey chuckled. "Aww, Riku, we're the Keyblade Masters. You and Sora don't need to call me that."

While trying to disentangle himself from his friends, Goofy managed to slam his head into Roxas' knees, causing the blond to topple backwards. "Whoa!" He cried. Mickey looked up, as if just noticing the fourth teen.

"Who is this?" He asked. "You three know that your friends here aren't supposed to know about this."

Not even Riku, who of all of the three friends had spent the most time around Mickey, had ever heard the mouse king sound so stern. The silver-haired teen was taken aback for a moment. "Of course, King Mickey." He replied. His voice darkened slightly. "No, _he's_ the reason we wrote to you."

Sora finally managed to struggle into a sitting position, putting a hand on Roxas' shoulder. "King Mickey, meet Roxas, my ex-Nobody. He's got his own heart now, and we're not sure how or why. We were wondering if you knew where it came from, or whether or not you had anything to do with it." Roxas was grateful that Sora had explained, as he found himself quite unable to meet the tiny king's eyes.

Mickey's expression turned quite grave, so suddenly that both Riku and Sora instantly grew worried. "I wondered why it felt like somethin' big was goin' on." He mused aloud. "I had nothin' to do with this, but I might be able to shed some light on where that heart of yours came from, Roxas." He looked around a little. "Not here, though. C'mon, let's get onboard the Gummi Ship."

Sora scrambled to his feet, as did Donald and Goofy, finally. "Where are we going to go, Your Majesty?"

"Twilight Town. Master Yen Sid is the best person to explain things to you four."

Mickey wasn't looking, and so didn't see Roxas pale slightly, then carefully reconstruct his facial expression until it resembled indifference. Sora managed to catch it, though. He touched Roxas' shoulder again, helping the blond to his feet. "S'okay, Roxas. We don't have to go through the town at all if it makes you uncomfortable." He assured the other teen, realizing that was what probably freaking him out. Roxas, of course, had lived for a year or so in a fabricated data-copy of Twilight Town, so although he knew the people there, the citizens of the real Twilight Town had never met him. It would be unnerving to anyone.

Roxas shook his head. "No." He replied. "I want to see it. I just...I...I didn't think I'd ever see it again." He scuffed his foot a little against the sandy ground, his deep blue eyes fixed on it.

"Sora, Roxas, c'mon! Let's get on the Gummi Ship!" Kairi called. She and Riku already stood with Goofy, Donald and Mickey. Sora grinned, tugging Roxas over to the others.

"I guess we're off to Twilight Town, then. Off on another adventure."

* * *

Yay, Twilight Town! -heart-

I need to watch the cinematic of Sora, Donald and Goofy at Yen Sid's again...stupid sorcerer is giving me problems. XP

Anyway, love-love!

Ivy J.

**PS: It's an honour to have people with my story on their favourites or alerts lists, or with me on their Authour Alert, but for those of you who haven't reviewed, I would love it if you guys submitted at least one. heart There's a lot of this story that isn't plotted out yet, and you guys can influence it with your ideas if you wish. I can't make any promises to anyone, but if you suggest ideas, I'll do what I can to incorporate them. :-)**


	5. Chapter 5

Hi, guys! Have to update, because it's that time of the week! -heart- Love you all!

See! I TOLD you they get longer! This one's, like, 3000+ words. They just keep lengthening after this, I think. Have fun!

REIzor Image: I enjoy writing cute interaction scenes, lol. Expect more of them. And Yen Sid annoyed me...he just WOULD NOT write for me. I had to go in and watch the cinematic of Sora, Donald and Goofy at Yen Sid's tower again before he finally let me write him. Thus, I'm behind a chapter or so. Speaking of Donald, Goofy, and Mickey, I know. Not a lot of fics give them the love they deserve. But to be honest, Donald and Goofy aren't getting a lot yet. So far from what I've written, they're really only here to keep Minnie from worrying. And to let Sora use his Drive forms. Yes, he's going to use his Drives at least a couple of times, and I always had fun imagining Riku's reaction to that too, so don't worry! That was already planned, lol, 'cause Sora's just so pwnsome in his Drives. And they can be so incredibly useful.

Bittersweet Dream: Gasp! A new reviewer! -heart- I hope you stay around long enough to find out and to see what happens. :D

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: You're loving it?! -faints- Comments like that make me die of happiness, lol. Don't worry, though. I always manage to find someone with a decent Ressurect spell. XD And yes, they're going adventuring. Finally. It took bloody long enough. And I never quite got how Riku OR Sora got so freaking tall in a year. Seriously, his clothes shouldn't have been THAT small. Sora grew, like, four or more inches while in that pod. I still think it probably was two years, they just aren't telling us there was another year in there someplace. That's slightly more probable. Although the broccoli thing is a good idea too XD.

Rose93darkness: -heart- Thank you! I certainly hope I can keep up to your standards, and everyone elses! -bows-

You guys are writers too, even if some of you don't put your stuff up on here, so you must understand how much I appreciate your comments. Seriously, you guys help keep me going. So do all the Story Alerts, the Authour Alerts, and the favourites. And my friends off-site, too! I love you all! -heart-

* * *

Chapter 5

The Gummi Ship.

A spaceship owned by King Mickey, useful for travelling between the Worlds. By adding and replacing components, called Gummi Blocks, one could customize a basic Gummi Ship blueprint, making it faster, stronger, more manoeuvreable or more powerful.

Even with such a whimsical name, Riku had always imagined something slightly less...annoyingly colourful.

And who in their right mind would hire chipmunks as engineers?

"Hi, Sora!" Chip dug his little claws into Sora's pant leg, scrambling up to the brunet's shoulder. His little black nose twitched madly in his excitement. Dale climbed up the other side, settling himself quite snugly in Sora's hood.

Sora chuckled softly. "Hey, guys." He patted Chip's little head with two fingers. "How've you been?"

As Sora conversed with the twin chipmunks, Roxas picked his way over to a chair and sat down gingerly. He couldn't feel safe in a spaceship made of hunks of jelly. It just didn't seem right.

Kairi came over, somehow sensing the blond's anxiety. "Are you okay, Roxas?" She asked, canting her head slightly. Roxas looked up at her, blinking, as if suprised someone actually said something.

"Oh...yeah, I guess." He shrugged a little. "It's just hard to feel comfortable in a spaceship made of..._Gummi _blocks."

The redhead chuckled softly. "I know how you feel. You'd think it would be made of something slightly more substantial. But it certainly gets the job done. Look at Sora...he hasn't gotten killed yet, riding around in this ship all the time."

Roxas grinned wryly. "I guess I'm just being stupid." He admitted. Kairi grinned too.

"It's natural." She assured him. "I think it'll be a little while before we get underway...d'you want to explore in the meantime?"

"Sure."

Riku watched warily as Kairi and Roxas left the bridge of the Gummi Ship. He still didn't trust Roxas, but he knew Kairi could mostly take care of herself. Unless the blond was hiding some experience on a Gummi Ship (unlikely), or remnants of his old powers (also very unlikely), he couldn't possibly take her anywhere. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and turned to see Sora. He then proceeded to arch an eyebrow at the shorter teen. "Let me guess," He began, "this is where you tell me I have nothing to worry about, huh?"

Sora gave Riku a lopsided grin. "You know me too well, Riku." He admitted. "C'mon and grab a seat. King Mickey wants to get going."

As the two boys sat, Dale scurried off to locate Roxas and Kairi. Within a few minutes, the four teens, Donald, Goofy and Mickey all had seats, and the stars were streaking past the windows as the Gummi Ship flew through space.

Roxas stood with the other three teens in the cleft in the wall that stood between the woods and the section of Twilight Town known as the Tram Common. He looked around at the streets were so familiar, and yet so not. There were more people, for one. The Twilight Town he had known had been rather sparsely populated. But here, more people milled about than he'd ever seen in the entire town. The tram made its circle around the Common, dropping people off and picking others up almost randomly.

The Gummi Ship had dropped them off at the mansion in the woods, so that the four of them could explore the town a little. They would meet Mickey, Donald and Goofy at the Train Station, as the mouse and his companions tended to stand out a little in a crowd.

A trio of kids ran up to their group. At the sight of them, Roxas paled, his blue eyes growing wide and round. _'Don't say anything, Roxas. They don't know you...you'll freak them out."_

A tall young man with short dark blond hair spiked up and away from his head crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing them. "Well, isn't this a surprise." He commented, rather sarcastically. A shorter girl, with long locks of brown hair hanging over her shoulders to contrast with the shorter bits framing her face and curling out from the back of her head, nudged him a little.

"Hayner, be nice." She insisted.

"Ah, Sora and Kairi should be used to it by now. Right, guys?" The third kid in the bunch grinned. He was shorter as well, and a little more plump than the other two. A black and white headband held his dark brown hair up and off his face. "Who are your other friends, Sora?"

"This is Riku, and this here is Roxas." Sora replied, placing his hands on their shoulders. Roxas was still staring at the new trio as if they were ghosts, and so the brunet nudged him a little. "Roxas, Riku, these three are Hayner, Pence, and Olette."

Having been recalled to himself, Roxas nodded, trying to act as if the names were new to him. "Hi." He waved a little. This was so _awkward_! He'd known them for a year! They had been his best friends!

Riku nodded his greetings. He couldn't help but glance at Roxas, to see how the blond was taking this one-sided reunion. As Sora and the three talked, Roxas kept staring at them, as if his gaze might suddenly jog the memories that weren't there. Finally, Hayner noticed, arching a brow at him. "What's your problem?" He asked, causing Roxas to suddenly be the centre of attention. Fortunately for him, that didn't last long.

"Hayner! Pence! Olette!"

Another teenaged girl ran up. This appearance, however, caused Riku, Sora, Kairi _and_ Roxas to stare, completely dumbfounded. For they all knew the one who came up behind the kids from Twilight Town.

Pale blonde hair just barely fell over one shoulder. Stunningly blue eyes stood out from fair skin, further washed out by the girl's light blue top and white skirt. She stopped suddenly, locking gazes with Kairi, Sora, Riku, and finally Roxas. Those bright blue eyes of hers widened considerably in her shock.

"Naminé?!"

"Roxas?!" She cried. She reached forward, but drew her hand back before she actually touched him. "You...you're really here? You and Sora together...and Riku! Kairi! How?!"

"What about you?! What are you doing here?" Roxas couldn't believe his eyes. He knew that his existence had to be an anomaly, but Naminé too? Suddenly, he wondered idly how many other Nobodies he had known had been reincarnated. Could that be why they were here? To fight those that still wanted to control Kingdom Hearts, even though they now had hearts themselves?

"I'm not sure." She replied, almost uncertainly. "I woke up here a couple of days ago...I don't know what happened, or why."

"Same as me...I ended up with Sora and his friends. I wonder why you didn't appear on the Destiny Islands with us...I mean, I assumed I was brought there because Sora lived there. But if that's true, why weren't you there too? Wasn't Kairi your Somebody?"

Naminé touched her finger to her lips. "Remember, Roxas, there are people here who shouldn't know about such things." She murmured, low enough that the residents of Twilight Town wouldn't hear her. "Yes, she was."

"We've talked to the King, but he has no idea why or how this has happened. Do you know anything, Naminé? Anything at all?" Roxas asked, desperate for any little bit of information. The blonde girl shook her head.

"I'm just as much in the dark as you are."

Roxas cursed softly, for all he tried to stop himself. "Well, we're trying to find out what the hell has just happened, and why. D'you want me to keep you informed on what we find out?"

Naminé nodded. "Please, Roxas. I want to know what's going on as much as you do. I'll write it all down as you tell it to me, so that we can all look over it later." She brightened a little at that idea.

Roxas couldn't help but smile. "Okay. That works." He agreed. "I'll talk to King Mickey about it, if I can."

The blonde girl turned, almost as if to go, but stopped herself. After a moment, she threw her arms around Roxas' neck and hugged him. "I'm glad this happened, Roxas." She whispered. "I'm glad we're Somebodies now. Even if it's just for a little while."

Roxas flushed. A red tinge spread outward from his nose and across his cheeks, touching the tips of his ears before Naminé let go and it began to subside. He chuckled a little, almost nervously. "Yeah." He rubbed the back of his head, wishing he could just dig a hole in the ground and hide.

Naminé grinned sheepishly at Kairi, who grinned back. She then turned to Hayner, Pence and Olette. "I'll see you guys back at the usual spot." She smiled, before turning around and vanishing into the crowd.

"Look, guys, we'd love to stay and chat, but we've got to meet King Mickey at the station in a little while." Sora grinned apologetically. "We'll come back, though."

"Be careful." Hayner warned them. "Seifer's being more of an ass than usual lately...I wouldn't run into him if I were you." Sora saluted, winking.

"We'll be fine, but thanks for worrying." He grinned. "We'll see you later, guys."

The four of them walked off, headed for Station Heights.

"Sooo, Roxas? What happened there?" Sora nudged the blond. Roxas swatted at him, glaring.

"Nothing happened, Sora. She just...hugged me. Girls do that. It just hasn't happened in a while."

"Uh huh."

As they walked along the streets of Twilight Town, they traded banter. Even Riku got involved a couple of times, throwing in a cutting remark here and there. In the more narrow streets, where not as much of the perpetually golden sunset light shone between the buildings, the banter died out, leaving in its place serious questions that needed considering. But, seeing as none of the teens wanted to discuss the aforementioned questions, there was a long, slightly awkward silence.

Suddenly, Roxas wanted to leave.

He picked up speed, running up the hill, ignoring the sound of Sora shouting his name. Right now, he just wanted to get to the station and go speak to this Master Yen Sid person and get some answers. Maybe then he'd feel more comfortable in this place that was his home and yet wasn't.

Unfortunately, fate never quite works the way one wants it to.

A sudden wall of solid matter seemed to magically appear in front of him, far too quickly for him to do anything like move out of the way. He was knocked back on his ass, cursing softly as he shook his head before looking up at whatever he'd plowed into.

His gaze met a pair of vivid green eyes. And Roxas suddenly found he couldn't breathe.

_'It _couldn't_ be...'_

The green eyes widened at almost the same time his did. Their owner knelt in front of the blond, reaching out and gently cupping his chin with their hands, nudging the shorter teen's head up a little as if to get a better look at his face.

"Roxas?"

The voice was soft with shock, and nearly as familiar as his own. Also familiar was the very faint scent of smoke that lingered around the hands still holding his chin. Now that Roxas wasn't completely focussed on the green eyes, he also took in the markings beneath those eyes, almost certainly done in black eyeliner. And the strands of bright red hair that blew past his face in the tiny puffs of wind that reached into these narrow streets.

"A-Axel?"

The tall redhead's expression flicked quickly from shock to something Roxas couldn't quite identify, then to an almost-carnal smirk. "Still got it memorized, eh, Rox? Glad you haven't forgotten me." He grinned suddenly, unable to keep his glee from taking over his face. "I can't believe I ran into you here. What are the odds, huh?"

Roxas was still stunned, having run into too many familiar people than his brain could accept right now. Hayner, Pence and Olette he'd been expecting. He'd been prepared for that. But Naminé? And _Axel_?! "Y...You too?" He managed to get out. Axel quirked a flaming red eyebrow at him.

"Me too? You sound like you ran into someone else you remember today. Or are you just commenting on the whims of the universe, reincarnating us at about the same time?" There was a mischevious twinkle in the redhead's eyes. The sounds of several sets of footsteps drew Axel's gaze away from Roxas' wide blue eyes and over his shoulder instead. He smirked again, but somehow it seemed...less, to the blond. "Hey, Sora. Long time no see."

Sora glanced sideways at Kairi, then at Riku. Kairi looked thoughtfully puzzled, and Riku's turquoise eyes had narrowed again in suspicion. Lovely. He grinned at Axel, though the expression looked a little sheepish. "Hey, Axel."

Axel stood, extending a hand to Roxas to help the blond up, though his eyes stayed on the trio behind him. "You're travelling with them, huh, Roxas?"

"Um..." Roxas took a second to think as he brushed imaginary dust off his clothes. "Yeah, we're travelling around. Did you just...kinda...appear here? A couple of days ago or so?"

Axel chuckled a little. "I guess the same thing happened to you, huh? Or did you somehow learn to read minds while you were gone?"

"Why is it that you've pretty much spoken in questions since we ran into each other?" Roxas responded, rather deadpan, spurring more soft laughter from Axel.

"You mean, since _you_ ran into _me_." He grinned offhandedly, ruffling Roxas' hair again. "And why? Simply because I can. I'd end up asking the questions anyway...might as well get 'em all out in the open."

The blond rubbed his face with one hand, raking his bangs back from his face as he sighed. "Have you run into any of the...the others, Axel? So far as you know, has anyone else we knew been brought back too?"

Axel shook his head. "No one that I've seen." he replied, knowing exactly who Roxas was referring to. "I _did_ see that Naminé girl yesterday, though, have you run into her yet?" Seeing Roxas rub the back of his head a little, sheepishly, the redhead grinned. "I'll take that as a yes." He continued. "So, what are you doing here, Rox?"

Roxas hesitated. If it had been anyone else but Axel, he might not have said a word. But Axel had been..._still was_...his best friend. Surely he could trust Axel. "We're off to try and find out where these hearts came from. We were going to go straight to where the King's teacher lives, hoping to find out from him, but I...I wanted to come here for a little while. You know, for old times' sake." He shifted a little, looking uncomfortable. "I'm starting to think it was a bad idea."

Axel's expression morphed into a mask of mock-hurt. "Aww, Roxy. You didn't want to run into me?" He asked, green eyes wide in a façade of innocence. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Axel. I knew, somehow, that of all the people in the universe I wasn't expecting to see, you were the one I was going to run into. _Really_. Naminé, and Hayner, Pence and Olette don't count." One corner of his lips twitched up a little. "I _had_ forgotten how self-centered you could be." He added, teasingly.

Axel laughed. "That's a big thing to forget, Roxy."

"And damn it, stop calling me that!" Roxas huffed, shoving the taller teen. "I _know_ I didn't like _that_!"

As the two of them teased each other, Axel couldn't help but notice the wary aquamarine eyes fixed on the blond's back. _'I'd never hurt him, if that's what you're worried about, Silver.'_ He huffed, internally of course. His train of thought altered slightly as the redhead watched Riku's gaze shift from Roxas to him, then flick over to Sora for a moment before refocussing on Roxas. _'Or your precious little Sora. Neither would he. You stalked him for, like, half a year, one would think you'd know him better.'_

When Axel's gaze locked with Riku's, Sora could swear he could see sparks fly...and _not_ friendly ones. He touched Riku's shoulder gently, his blue eyes imbued with a touch of worry as they flicked between the redhead and the silver-haired teen. When Riku looked sideways at him, Sora tried to communicate what he was thinking without speaking. _'C'mon, Riku, calm down. Axel is Roxas' best friend...I don't think he's gonna betray us now that Roxas is working with us.'_

Riku blew out a breath, softly, letting some of his tension go with it. He couldn't help feeling anxious, though, not now that Axel knew of their plans. _And_ Naminé too, from what he'd heard of their conversation. _'Is Roxas gonna spill his guts to everyone he knows, now?'_ He fumed. He knew he wasn't being entirely fair...if he were to be completely honest with himself, Naminé, at least, had every reason to know what was going on. He didn't trust Axel, no more than he fully trusted Roxas, still. He caught Sora's gaze again, jerking his chin a little in Roxas' direction. _'We should go. Call him, Sora. He'll listen to you more willingly than he would to me.'_

The brunet must have caught the gist of Riku's unspoken request, because he hurried forward and touched Roxas' shoulder, drawing him away from Axel. "We'll see you later, Axel!" He called to the redhead, grinning. Axel saluted with two fingers, cockily.

"It was nice to see you again too, Sora." He replied. "See you around." He watched until the four of them walked out of his line of sight.

_'I guess you still don't remember, do you, Roxas?'_ He mused. _'I guess I'm just going to have to find some way to jog your memory.'_ He smirked, turning to head back into town. That ought to be fun.

* * *

Yeah, I just had to bring back both Axel and Naminé. Just because. Well, no...I like them both, and there's a reason for it in my semi-sadistic little mind. 'Cause I'm just evil like that. 

So, yes, Bittersweet Dreams. Axel is in it. As for the rest of the Organization? Well, you'll just have to find out, won't you? -heart-

Don't ask me why Axel called Riku 'Silver'. I don't think they were ever properly introduced, so I guess it just stems from Axel not knowing (or remembering) Riku's name. And the fact that Riku's hair is silver. I imagine if Axel ever actually calls him that out loud, to his face, Sora might have to do a little mediating, lol. Can't imagine Riku tolerating that very well.

Anyway, enough rambling. I need to keep writing.

Love-love!

**Ivy J.**


	6. Chapter 6

Hiiii! Yay, it's me again. :D It's that time of the week, everyone! -heart-

Be forewarned: I have no idea how long it's going to take me to update now. Senior year is harder than I expected. Too many projects. So I don't know how much time I'm going to have to finish Chapter 7 between now and next Saturday. Especially because I also have to plan my birthday get-together -heart-. Seventeen, here I come:D

GASP! Two new reviewers! TWO! (Then again, one was kinda half-requested...oh well :D) I might just keel over from amazement and luff. But don't worry, someone always has a decent Ressurect spell or something similar. :D

calmxbeforexthexstorm: I'm glad you enjoy it. -heart- I hope you'll stick around:-) Yeah, to be honest, I'm not too fond of Kairi. But she does have a purpose here! She _does_. She just won't get as much love as the boys and Mickey, lol. ;D

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: Yeah, everyone's kinda confused. And I didn't mean _that_ kind of jelly, lol. XD

Rose93darkness: Maaaaybe. :D You'll just have to wait and see.

Siavahda: Oh my God, I love you. XD Hey, guys, check out the pwnsomeness of Siavahda. She's got some crazy-awesome KH AU fantasy stuff. And some other pretty cool stories too. Yeah, that's me, cheap advertising. XD. And yes, _I_ think I have a good reason for Roxas getting a heart. It's up to you guys to judge. XD

REIzor Image: Yay for Axel and Nami! -heart- You're just going to have to wait to find out if Roxas is going to be paired with anyone. All I'm going to say is, it's not going to be easy for him. XD He doesn't like me right now.

Almost 20 reviews! -dances with little hearts popping over her head- I think that's some sort of record. If I could get to my account on a certain other, specifically adult fanfiction website, and check on Heat (my fic there, lol), I could confirm that, but nooooo. They just HAD to put that age requirement in. XP

Either way, I don't think I've ever gotten so many reviews! Although my older sister, Angel Monroe, still outstrips me by, like, 780. She's freaking amazing. Then again, she's trying to get published, so she kinda HAS to be that amazing, lol.

Enjoy! -heart-

* * *

The four teens walked into the area known as Station Heights. It was strangely deserted compared with the rest of the town, especially for the time of day. A few people milled about, waiting for trains, or perhaps for other people getting off trains, but all in all it was quiet and mostly empty.

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy stood just inside the doors of the station, out of the way of the day's commuters. When the group of teens walked through the door, Roxas was somehow glad to see the mouse king and his friends.

"C'mon, guys. Master Yen Sid is waiting, I'm sure." Mickey led them into the station and towards a blue train covered in gold and blue stars. Roxas halted a few steps away, eyes wide. He knew that train.

"What's wrong, Roxas?" Sora asked, looking at him curiously.

"It's the Phantom Train. I remember, we saw it on the tracks from Sunset Hill. It was one of the few of those Seven Wonders that really checked out." He shook his head, realizing that the others probably thought he was speaking nonsense. "Sorry. I guess I should have realized it really existed."

Riku stared at him, one silver eyebrow arched. After a moment, though, recognition dawned on his face. "Oh, of course. I remember. DiZ...I mean, Ansem the Wise...he let you see the train." He let loose a short laugh. "What was it that friend of yours - Pence, right? - said? 'Those who ride on it are warped to a new world...and never come back.'" He chuckled a little, although not entirely unkindly.

"Something like that, yeah." Roxas replied, although his tone and gaze held quite a bit of irritation. "And now that we've proven that Riku thinks I'm some sort of naïve, inexperienced country mouse, can we go?" The way the silver-haired teen had laughed off Pence's superstitiousness had sparked the blond's temper...and reminded him at the same time that the Pence he'd known was a different person, however slightly, from the one that actually existed.

Riku's brows rose sharply, an indication of his surprise, as Roxas stalked towards the train. He hadn't meant it the way the blond had obviously taken it...he'd only been kidding. However, the warning bell rang, cutting off further conversation until the seven of them were all aboard and seated. Sora didn't bother sitting down at first, but he instead walked over to Roxas, who stood at the back of the train, resting against the back door and watching the scenery of Twilight Town pass by as they lurched out of the station.

"Hey."

Roxas sighed. "Hi, Sora." He replied, without looking at the brunet. His deep blue eyes were fixed on the outside world absently, but the other teen could see the sadness in them. He touched Roxas' shoulder gently.

"He was just joking, you know. He didn't mean to upset you. Not really." Sora glanced back at Riku, who sat near the middle of the train, looking out the window. His lip twitched up into a half-smile as he met Roxas' eyes again. The blond sighed a little again, nodding.

"I know." He murmured, softly. "I just...maybe this visit really was a bad idea. It kinda...it hurt, really, to see them and know them and know that they really didn't know me. And I don't mind you, or Kairi...but Riku's just an asshole. What's his problem?"

Sora hesitated. "He...he's just really protective of Kairi and I, Roxas. And it takes him a long time to warm up to people he doesn't know. It's twice as hard for him to give you a chance, because you guys were at such odds while you were still part of Organization XIII. But he _is_ trying. Actually, that's a lot like how he usually teases us." He smiled. Roxas felt his lips twitch a little.

"Yeah?" When Sora nodded in response, the blond straightened a little, giving a wry smile. "I guess I'm just being too sensitive...or something." He chuckled. "I just...this is all so crazy. Why am I here? Is there a reason, or is it just the whims of the universe?" Remembering that the same words had come from Axel's mouth, he grinned a little.

Sora shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe Master Yen Sid can tell us." He turned as if to go, then looked back at the blond. "Are you going to sit down, or are you enjoying looking out the window?"

"Enjoying looking out the window." He replied, grinning. "It's not that far anyway, right?"

The brunet grinned back. "Nope, not really." He confirmed. On cue, the surroundings flashed over from Twilight Town to the space-like dimension of Yen Sid's realm. Despite himself, Riku couldn't help sitting up straight to get a better view of the surroundings. Kairi caught this and chuckled, but also looked out the nearest window, just as interested as Riku was.

The train coasted to a stop before a large, slightly wonky-looking tower with a bunch of smaller towers branching off if it. A well-worn path led from the door of the train to the stairs up to the tower's entrance. As Mickey led the way, almost anxious, everyone exited the train, filing out to stand on the grass. The doors of the train car closed behind them, and after a few moments it...vanished?

"Uh, King Mickey? Our train just...uh..disappeared." Riku called, a little nervous. Mickey chuckled a little.

"Don't worry, fellas. It'll be there if we need it." He assured them. "C'mon, let's go."

The mouse king and Sora led the way to the tower. Just inside the doors, the group found themselves in a golden-yellow, circular room, with a spiral staircase curving up from the other end of the room. King Mickey led the group to the staircase and started up. At about the fifth or sixth stair, the diminutive royal suddenly vanished. The air where he had been rippled, like the surface of a disturbed pond. Riku, Kairi and Roxas all halted at the foot of the stairs, staring at the spot where Mickey had been, but Donald and Goofy walked after their King as if nothing had happened.

Sora had hung back, anticipating his friends' reactions. "There's no real path through this place. It's all portals and floating doors and stuff." He grinned at them. "It's kinda weird, but you'll get used to it."

"Ah." Roxas nodded his understanding. "_Now_ you tell us." He faked an annoyed look, exaggerating it so much that Sora chuckled. He hurried up the stairs, disappearing through the rippling wall. Riku, eyes narrowed, followed the blond.

At the determined look on the silver-haired teen's face, Sora grinned back at Kairi. "It's funny how those two compete without even realizing that that's what they're doing."

Kairi giggled. "You're right." She agreed. "Come on, Sora. We're being left behind."

They both raced up the stairs, following the others. The portal in the air in front of them brought the group to another staircase inside the bulk of the tower. Floating, seemingly unsupported, were two other segments of staircase, secured at both ends by doors.

_'This place is so _weird Riku couldn't help but think as he looked around. _'This guy has to be crazy on _some_ level.'_

Passing through the door brought the group to a round room, adorned with lit star lamps. There was a door in front of them, wooden, with a glowing arrow in it pointing up. There were no other doors or portals in the room, except for the one they had entered through, which had a glowing down arrow.

The group continued up, going through a second staircase, another round room lit with moon lamps, and a final flight of stairs. At the top of the final staircase, Mickey paused, allowing everyone to catch up. He knew Sora would have no trouble navigating the Tower, but he wanted to have everyone together before they went in to see Master Yen Sid.

When they were all together, Mickey eased the door open. The seven of them filed in quietly, looking around. An older man, dressed as a sorcerer in a blue robe and a star-studded, conical hat, sat in front of the desk that was positioned in the middle of the room. It was almost as if he'd been waiting for them.

Donald and Goofy swept surprisingly graceful bows. The mouse king, too, bowed to his old teacher, although not quite as deeply as his comrades. As Donald glared at him as he straightened up, Sora did his best, and despite not having been trained, managed to pull off a decent, if plain, bow. Kairi dipped slightly as if curtsying, although she didn't have enough of a skirt to do it properly. Roxas and Riku followed Sora's lead, although Riku only bowed from the shoulders. Master Yen Sid's only reaction was to blink slowly, as if he found the ritual tiresome. "It is good to see you, King Mickey."

"And you, Master Yen Sid." Mickey replied.

"You have come to me for information, have you not?" He asked, deep voice grave. Sora nodded.

"Yes, sir." He touched Roxas' shoulder, startling the blond. "This is Roxas. He...he was my Nobody. He...came back, a couple of days ago, and he has his own heart now. We were wondering if you could tell us where it came from."

The sorcerer nodded. "Kingdom Hearts, as you know, is made of all the hearts that ever existed that, for one reason or another, no longer have vessels to house them. It is also the source of all hearts. As the hearts that make up Kingdom Hearts reside there, they are purified. Darkness erases the memories from the hearts, and then light drives out the darkness. When they have been completely purged of all the memories that their previous bodies collected over the span of their lives, they are sent back out to be reborn in another body. Thus, the number of hearts in Kingdom Hearts is regulated."

Mickey glanced back at Roxas. "Think back, Roxas. Are there any memories in your heart that you feel like don't belong to you? You remember how it was to see Sora's memories, right? D'you ever get that feelin' now?"

Roxas, a little uncomfortable at being put on the spot, fidgeted a little. "Not really, no." He admitted. "Everything I remember is something I've experienced. Although, to be honest, I don't remember a lot."

"Then that heart of yours, Roxas, was meant to be yours. It was purified in Kingdom Hearts, and now belongs to you." Yen Sid intoned, nodding as if that made sense to him. "The cycle begins again."

"Cycle?" Mickey blinked at Master Yen Sid. The sorcerer sighed a little.

"You know the story of the light of the universe, do you not?" He questioned. "How the universe was made entirely of light, before the people began to fight over it. And then darkness entered their hearts."

"And the light was nearly swallowed by it, except in the hearts of children, and the universe was broken up into the different worlds." Kairi finished. Everyone turned to look at her. "I remember that story. I heard it when I was little. Somehow, the light was sealed away into the darkness."

"That is right. For generations, the Keyblade Masters have tried to unlock the light, so that the universe can be united and at peace again." Yen Sid continued. "Every time, for one reason or another, they have been unsuccessful. Now, it is your turn."

"My turn?" Sora touched his chest, canting his head in confusion. Yen Sid shook his head.

"Not just yours, Sora. Five Keybearers are needed to unlock the light. The seal has ten keys."

"Five?!" The brunet cried. "Where are we going to find five Keybearers?!"

Yen Sid sighed, sounding almost exasperated. "You already have them. It is the keys you need to find. That is why your Nobody, Roxas, has been given new life. Both of you are needed."

"And King Mickey is a Keyblade Master." Goofy piped up. Donald nodded.

"Riku, you're a Keybearer, aren't you?" Kairi asked. "That's four."

"Does that mean Kairi is one, too?" Sora asked. The grey-haired sorcerer nodded.

"So, we have to find these ten keys and release the light, huh?" Riku looked thoughtful. "Any hints as to where we'll find them?"

Master Yen Sid shook his head. "The keys are scattered. You must find them on your own. I can tell you, however, that you will never find more than one key on a world. Your Keyblades will react when you have found a key. Search carefully; sometimes the key will be easily found, other times it will be cleverly hidden. And the Heartless and the Nobodies are still at large. Be careful."

"Thank you, Master Yen Sid." Mickey bowed again.

"Wait." Roxas looked a little worried. "I don't have a Keyblade anymore. I mean, I suppose I could borrow Sora's, but that would leave one of us without a weapon. If we're going to be fighting, it's not the greatest idea for someone to be defenseless."

"I'm not exactly defenseless, even without the Keyblade, Roxas." Sora grinned.

Master Yen Sid nodded. "That is right...I nearly forgot. Take ahold of Sora's Kingdom Key, Roxas. As Sora's sacrifice created you, Sora's Keyblade will produce yours."

Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and turned towards Roxas, holding it out. The blond, still looking rather uncertain, closed his hand over Sora's on the handle. Warmth flooded his fingers, and he pulled away abruptly, surprised. A white light clung to his fingertips and his palm, writhing as if forming itself. It lengthened into a blade and wrapped around his hand, and a white shaft enclosed it before dissipating.

Roxas now held a Keyblade unlike any weapon any of them had ever seen.

It was made entirely of a silver metal, the handle wrapped in black leather. The keychain, a silver charm in the shape of the Nobody symbol, hung from a point sticking out from a circle inlaid with rose gold that looked somehow familiar. One side of the handle was jagged, almost like a gear, and had ten small spike-like protrusions on the outside edge. Rose and blue gold inlay swirled together, looking almost purple from a distance. The other side of the handle was spiked as well, although this was a slightly different style of spike, and there were only four of them. That side of the handle had only blue gold inlay. The shape of the blade looked almost like a lengthened heart, with circles engraved in it similar to the circles cut out of the Nobody symbol. The shaft ended in what looked almost like a spearhead. Only the blade of the key was similar to the Kingdom Key, although slightly spikier.

"Wow." Sora reached out to touch Roxas' new Keyblade with his free hand. "That's really cool-looking."

Roxas' gaze was fixed on the weapon in his hands. _'The universe has a sense of humour, I think.'_ He mused, stroking the rose gold circle just above the handle with his thumb. It somehow reminded him of the way Oathkeeper had felt...he wasn't sure why.

"Now you are ready." Yen Sid stood. "I wish you speed and safety on your journey."

"Thank you." Mickey bowed a third time, and the rest of the group bowed or curtseyed their respects. Turning, they left the room, descending the staircases and walking out the doors of the tower. As they approached the tracks, the train reappeared.

Mickey grinned at Riku, who was smiling and shaking his head. "See, Riku? There was nothin' to worry about."

"I should never have doubted you, King Mickey." He teased back. "Are we getting back on, or are we going straight to the Gummi Ship?"

"We could go straight to the Gummi Ship, but it would be easier on the power systems if we went back to Twilight Town." The mouse king replied. "Let's get onboard."

This time, as they boarded the train, Roxas sat down on a seat. He hadn't put his Keyblade away yet, holding it across his lap like he was afraid it would slip from his grasp and break. Sora settled down beside him.

"Can I see?" He asked. Roxas looked up at him, grinning.

"Sure."

The brunet took ahold of the silver Keyblade, looking over it curiously. "Somehow, it looks familiar. I've never seen it before, but for some reason, it looks like something I've seen before. Or a couple of things. I'm not sure." He laughed. "Oh! Wait, hang on a sec."

The brunet dug around in his pocket for a moment, before pulling out a keychain. The 'chain' was braided, and a charm in the shape of a paopu fruit hung from the end. He unhooked the Nobody charm from Roxas' keyblade and quickly hooked the new keychain onto it before handing both the Keyblade and the Nobody keychain back to Roxas.

Roxas held his Keyblade out in front of him as it changed shape. When the light dimmed, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as he stared at the weapon in his hand.

He now held the Oathkeeper Keyblade.

"I remember from that fight in front of Memory's Skyscraper in The World that Never Was that you used Oathkeeper and Oblivion." Sora grinned. "I wasn't sure if we could use each others' keychains, so I figured that was the best one to test with."

"What other kinds of keychains do you have, Sora?" The blond asked, running a finger along the white metal of Oathkeeper's shaft. Sora rummaged around in his pocket, still grinning.

"I've got a whole bunch." He pulled out a handful, looking like a mass of snakes in his hand. "Here, hand it over again." When Roxas gave the brunet his Keyblade again, Sora switched out the Oathkeeper keychain for one that dangled a spiked red and silver circle that looked oddly familiar. Roxas blinked.

"Is that...?" He trailed off when the weapon was shoved back into his hand and it morphed again. This time, the Keyblade became red and silver, with circles at both ends. The shaft was wrapped in black, and the circle at the end was spiked. Roxas' blue eyes grew wide again.

"It looks like Axel's chakram." He whispered, turning it over in his hand. He stroked the shaft gently, almost absently. "Where did you get this keychain, Sora?"

"Axel gave it to me. He was the one who opened the doorway to The World that Never Was for me." A soft smile played with Sora's lips. "You can use it, if you want. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. After all, he's your best friend, isn't he?"

Roxas smiled softly. "Yeah..." He replied. "Thanks, Sora."

Grinning, Sora rested an arm on Roxas' shoulder. "No problem, Roxas." He laughed as the blond shoved him off.

"Play nice, children." Riku's brows rose beneath his bangs. Sora stuck his tongue out at Riku, who merely smirked back, turquoise eyes peeking out from between locks of silver hair. Kairi giggled softly at the boys.

"Now, boys. Let's not fight now." Mickey scolded, but his eyes were alight with a grin. Riku grinned back at the mouse king.

"We're not fighting, King Mickey." He replied, innocently. "_I'm _trying to keep _them_ from fighting."

Sora chuckled. "Of course you are, Riku. Like we're really fighting anyway." He winked at Roxas. "Right?"

Roxas grinned back at the brunet. "Right."

The train slid back into the station, and the doors opened silently. Mickey hopped off the seat, but did not move towards the exit. "C'mon, fellas. Let's get back on the Gummi Ship."

"So, where are we going now?" Kairi asked, canting her head slightly. The mouse king shrugged.

"We'll check the navigational logs, see what worlds are closest. We'll start from one and see where it takes us." Donald suggested.

Goofy nodded. "That sure makes sense to me, Donald."

Gathering close, the assortment of seven were scooped up by the light and brought back up to the Gummi Ship, off to plan their route around the worlds.

* * *

Gah, that ended badly. XP

NaroRau, whom I tend to bounce ideas off of, thought my plot was crazy, lol. I have to admit...I thought it was pretty nuts too. But hey, I'm writing it. XD Tell me what you think, guys. If there's anyone out there who's already done something similar, I apologize. **There is no similarity intended. **The plot just kinda wandered into my head one day and said "Surprise! -heart-". So I just had to write it.

Anyway, yes. One more familar place to go before they actually head off into unexplored territory -heart- I know, I know, its taking forever. Trust me, I just want to get on with it. But all this stuff had to be written first.

Oh! I have a drawing of Roxas' keyblade when I was still designing it. I need to finish it and scan it, put it in my Scraps on deviantArt. When I do, I'll send everyone a little note, lol, if they wish. I luff it...I wanna pixel it.

Love-love!

**Ivy J.**


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry to update late, guys...I wasn't able to meet with my Chapter Approval Committee (XD Love you guys!) until Monday, and I didn't get all the responses back until Tuesday. So I'm updating now. I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Guys, what happened? ;-; Most of you kinda died on me this week...Did everyone get slammed with work the same week I did or something? I sincerely hope it wasn't my plot. -frets-

Yeah, now that I don't have three projects and half an ISU to contend with, I might be able to update on time, lol. Goddamn ISUs. The three most hated letters in the English language. XP

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: It's a pretty familiar place, for this chapter and at least part of the next, lol. After that, they're going all over the place. And yes, I loved writing Sora giving Roxas the Bond of Flame keychain. It just seemed like something he would do. Roxas and Riku are gonna kinda be a bit of a tug-of-war kind of thing...they're going to try to get along, sorta, but every once in a while something's going to happen to set one of them off. What these things are, I haven't decided yet. But it'll be interesting to see them interact.

I really don't know most of the Final Fantasy people in Kingdom Hearts too well. Reading other people's fanfiction helps to a certain extent, as does watching the cinematics from the games, but I still don't _really_ know them. So please forgive any out-of-character-ness.

I originally planned to have one chapter per world. I'm thinking I'm going to have to revise that...Oh well. Just means I'll have more chapters, lol. Ought to be interesting to see how many I get to.

Enjoy! (I hope! XD)

* * *

"So, Donald, where can we go from here?" 

The duck stared at the navigational logs, brows furrowed. "Disney Castle is closest, but we just left there not too long ago. The next closest is Radiant Garden."

"Hey, we can go see Leon and Cloud and the gang!" Sora grinned, tucking his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair.

"D'you have any reason to want to go back to Disney Castle, King Mickey?" Riku asked, glancing over at the mouse king, rubbing his temple with one hand as if it pained him. Mickey shook his head.

"I guess Radiant Garden it is, then." Donald declared, punching in the appropriate coordinates. Mickey looked over at Sora, arching an eyebrow when the brunet unsuccessfully fought off a yawn.

"Why don't you fellas get some sleep?" He suggested gently. "It's late, and a lot has happened today. Donald and I can handle things here."

Sora grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced at Riku, who looked back, a wan grin flitting across his features. "I am a little tired." The brunet admitted. "You look like you could use some rest, too."

Riku couldn't help but chuckle, his turquoise gaze focussed on the stars streaming past the cockpit of the Gummi Ship. "We haven't even actually started adventuring yet. Can you imagine what I'm gonna look like when we've finally found all these bloody keys?"

Sora bit his lip to fight back a grin. "You'll get used to it." He assured the silver-haired teen. "C'mon. Might as well get some sleep while we can." He stood and headed off the bridge. After a moment or two more of staring out at the stars, Riku got to his feet as well.

"Thank you, King Mickey." He glanced at the mouse king and smiled softly. Mickey smiled back.

"No thanks necessary, Riku. You fellas need to rest up." He replied. "Now, get goin'." Making a shooing motion with one hand, Mickey turned back to the front, looking out at the stars.

Riku walked off the bridge. The Gummi Ship was tiny, so it was only a moment or two before he reached the room where they were to sleep while not on a world. Four beds of varying sizes lay dotted around the room, which rivalled the bridge in size. One of the smallest beds held Kairi; as the only girl travelling with them, Mickey had insisted that she take a single bed for herself. In an equally bossy, but far more annoying manner, Donald had insisted that they set aside the other smallest bed for the King. Goofy was sprawled over the medium-sized bed. Which left the last bed, big enough to hold three.

Sora sat on the side of the bed closest to the door. A lump under the blankets on the far side was obviously Roxas, probably asleep seeing as Sora wasn't currently talking to him. The brunet looked up as footsteps announced Riku's approach, and grinned sheepishly at the silver-haired teen.

"I guess the three of us are sharing, then. Unless one of us wants to bunk with Goofy."

Riku couldn't help the shudder that crawled up and down his back. "No thanks." He replied. His turquoise gaze flicked back to the dog-creature, who lay snoring, sprawled out over his bed. "I think whoever it was would be smothered in their sleep." He heard Sora chuckle and glanced back, one eyebrow quirked slightly.

"Probably. At least Donald can fight back." The brunet Keyblade Master's lips were twisted in a wry grin. He pulled his feet up onto the bed, slipping under the covers. "I'm gonna crash. What about you?"

Riku couldn't help smirking softly as he noticed Sora had placed himself between Roxas and him. Preventing fights even in sleep... "I'll get to sleep. Maybe not quite yet. Leave some blanket for me, though." His lips twitched slightly. "On second thought, I'll find another one. I haven't forgotten all those sleepovers where I would wake up freezing because you'd stolen my covers." He teased. "Roxas is practically you...he's probably just as bad."

"You keep teasing me about it, and I'll do it just to spite you." Sora threatened good-naturedly. The two boys shared a soft laugh as Riku turned, scooping up the small bag that held his stuff.

"I'll be back." He called over his shoulder, disappearing into the fairly small bathroom off the sleeping quarters.

Sora watched the silver-haired teen until Riku closed the door behind him. He smiled softly, slipping his hands beneath his head and looking up at the ceiling. Travelling to other worlds was wonderful...travelling to other worlds with his friends was _bliss_. His azure eyes slipped closed, a contented smile still on his lips as he fell into slumber.

A couple of minutes later, Riku returned to the room, setting down his bag and resettling the blanket in his arms. He blinked, then grinned, seeing that Sora had already fallen asleep. _'How typically Sora.'_ He thought bemusedly. _'I tell him I'll be back and he crashes on me.'_ Shaking his head, the silver-haired teen sat down on the side of the bed, gently toying with one of the silky brown spikes of Sora's hair. _'I guess he really was tired.'_

Turning his back to the sleeping brunet, Riku curled up on his section of mattress under the blanket he'd found for himself. He, too, drifted off quickly, falling asleep within minutes.

* * *

"Hey, Sora. Wake up. We're here." 

Sora groaned softly, turning away from the soft voice. He felt someone shaking his shoulder and whined a complaint.

"C'mon, Sora, I don't want to have to ask someone to help me drag you out of bed."

The brunet grumbled under his breath and forced his eyes open. He yelped as he saw blue eyes merely inches from his own, and surged towards a sitting position.

This, unfortunately, cause him to smack heads with Roxas, who'd been leaning over the brunet, trying to rouse him. Several sharp curses followed.

"Did you have to scare me half to death, Roxas?!" Sora cried, eyes wide.

"If you'd woken up on your _own_, or when I _first_ started shaking you, I wouldn't have _had_ to!" Roxas snapped back, rubbing his forehead. "Damn, Sora, you've got a hard head."

Kairi, standing closer to the doorway, touched a few fingers to her lips to stifle her grin. "Are you boys done bickering?" She asked mildly. "We'd like to go sometime soon."

"Huh?" Sora's gaze, which had been fixed on Roxas in a glare, switched suddenly to Kairi. "Go? We're at Radiant Garden?" He asked. Kairi rolled her eyes.

"Why else would we be waking you up, Sora?" She asked, reasonably. "Now, c'mon, hurry up." Turning on her heel, the redhead left the room. She nearly ran straight into Riku, who stood in the corridor out of sight, silent laughter stifled by one hand clamped over his mouth. Her lips twitched into another grin. "And _you_ stop laughing. You can be almost as bad...especially when you boys have stayed up half the night playing video games or something." She continued softly. "I'll be waiting on the bridge."

As Kairi left, Riku took a moment to compose himself before he turned, walking into the room. "So, I see you're finally up, lazy-ass." He arched a brow, turquoise eyes alight with mischief. Sora's piercing blue gaze caught his, and the shorter teen scowled.

"I'm getting up already." He grumbled. "Give me ten minutes." He swung his legs off the bed and stood, scooping up his bag as he walked into the bathroom. Riku chuckled.

"All right. Twenty minutes it is." The silver-haired teen's smile faded as he eyed Roxas for a moment. "Come on." He jerked his head slightly, indicating the door. "Might as well wait for him out here."

* * *

Columns of white light dissipated, leaving the group standing behind the item shop in Radiant Garden. Sora ran his fingers through his hair as he walked around the building, looking out at the market. It was busy with people, more so than it had ever been before. He smiled softly. Radiant Garden looked like it was working back towards what it had been when Ansem the Wise had been their ruler...before the Heartless had overrun it. He wished, suddenly, that he could have seen it back in those days. Tron had shown them a picture once they'd helped him retake the computer core from the MCP, but he would have liked to have actually _been_ there. 

Absently, he fiddled with his jacket a little, straightening it. Riku arched an eyebrow at him as the rest of the group caught up. "Who are you preening for, Sora?" He asked, teasingly. Sora turned to him, blinking his confusion.

"What?"

A smirk blossomed on the silver-haired teen's face. "You're fussing with your hair, fiddling with your clothes. You look like you're trying to impress someone." He replied. Kairi giggled softly.

"He's right, Sora." She admitted.

Sora's gaze rolled skyward, one shoulder rose in a half-shrug. "Kairi, you remember Leon, Yuffie and the rest. They always look so..._cool_." Grinning a little, he continued. "I'm not trying to _impress_ anyone...but I might be trying to look closer to their level of cool." He admitted. Riku laughed, and Kairi giggled some more.

"Aww, Sora. You've got your own, special brand of 'cool'." Mickey assured him, walking over and patting the brunet Keyblade Master on the shoulder. He smiled. "I'm not an expert, but I think we all have our own brand of 'cool'."

"We're the Keyblade Wielders. That could be our 'brand of cool'." Roxas suggested. "That's what sets us apart from everyone else."

Kairi beamed at him. "It does, doesn't it?"

Riku considered it for a moment before he nodded too. "So, now that we have that decided, shall we stop standing here like a bunch of tourists and go see who we're here to see?"

Sora grinned at him. "I thought we _were_ a bunch of tourists." He countered.

"We were until we realized we were on a mission, too."

Donald and Goofy stood a couple of paces away. Donald looked rather displeased, tapping one webbed foot on the ground with his arms folded over his chest. Goofy looked sideways at the duck before he called out.

"Uh, guys, we have lots o' time later to talk about this. Weren't we gonna go see Leon and Merlin and them?"

Donald pulled out his wand as the teens continued to talk, idly considering shocking at least one of them, but before he could, Sora turned to the two of them, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Of course we were." He grinned. "Thanks for being so patient."

"Hmph." Donald scoffed, as Mickey chuckled. "You boys would have bickered for days while we stood here if we hadn't said something."

They walked across the market, pretty much ignored by the general populace. Sora had been here enough times on his journeys that most of the residents were fairly accustomed to the sight of Goofy, and a couple of members of Donald's family had started businesses here when they couldn't immediately get back to Disney Castle. A couple of kids gave them funny looks as they walked past, but that was to be expected.

As they descended the stairs on the other side of the marketplace, a sudden voice caused Sora to stop so suddenly that Riku nearly plowed into him. The silver-haired teen reached out to steady the brunet, and they turned to look up at the figure who stood at the top of the stairs.

Long brown hair was bound back by a pale pink ribbon, allowing two thick locks to frame a kind, thin face. She wore a dress of the same shade of pink as the ribbon, with a white ruffled underskirt. Her feet were clad with sensible brown boots. Sora's face lit up with a grin. "Hi, Aerith!"

"Hello, Sora. How are you?" Aerith's green eyes twinkled as she smiled. "I see you brought some friends this time around."

"Yeah. Where's everyone else? At Merlin's?" He asked. The brunette nodded.

"For the moment. Leon normally works at the computer in Ansem's laboratory, but we have to meet at Merlin's house because Cid still works at his computer there."

"Yeah, Cid won't leave his precious computer, 'cause he's paranoid that Merlin's magic is somehow gonna ruin it!"

Sora turned around again, looking down at Yuffie, who stood at the bottom of the stairs, hands on her hips. She winked at him. "Hey there, Sora. How's everything going?" She asked. "Did you just want to come and say hi?"

"We're okay. What're you doing here?" The brunet Keyblade Master canted his head slightly. Yuffie grinned at him.

"I just came to see if I could help Aerith out with the shopping. And look who we found!" With a wink, she hopped up the stairs two at a time until she stood next to Sora. "Aren't you going to introduce us, Sora?"

Sora looked back at the group. "Riku, Roxas. Meet Aerith and Yuffie. You guys met Kairi already." He pointed them each out in turn. "And you already know King Mickey and Donald and Goofy."

"That's the Great Ninja Yuffie to you, kiddo." Yuffie poked Sora's nose. She hopped a little farther up the stairs and walked over to Kairi. "Lookit you, you're all grown up. It's only been a year! What'cha been feeding her, Sora?"

Aerith chuckled. "They've all grown, Yuffie." She walked down the steps until she stood a couple of steps below Sora. "Come...we'll talk at Merlin's house."

They walked through the streets. Aerith had struck up a conversation with Kairi, and behind them, Roxas was asking Yuffie whether she was really 'the Great Ninja'. Riku couldn't help but overhear, arching a brow at the petite, black-haired woman. She grinned at him. "Don't believe me, huh?" She asked, mischief in her dark eyes. "Hey, Sora, would you mind if I stole your friends away to spar? I'll bring each of them back in one piece, I swear."

Sora turned around to Yuffie, walking backwards as he replied. "Maybe later, if they're willing to go. Right now, I just want everyone to meet each other." He grinned back at her.

What he failed to remember was the step up he had to make before he made it to Merlin's front door. His ankle hit the step and jarred him, catching him off-guard and off-balance. He tumbled back with a yelp, landing on his ass.

"Sora?"

"Are you okay?"

He grinned sheepishly as everyone turned his way. "Wow, guys, I just had a clumsy moment. It's not that big of a deal." He got to his feet, brushing himself off a little. "Forgot about that step." He admitted, rubbing the back of his head, a faint dusting of pink across his cheeks.

"So...you finally got here, did you?"

Sora turned. Standing in the doorway was Merlin himself; short, with long white hair and beard, dressed in blue robes similar to the ones Yen Sid wore, and a similar pointed conical hat...without the stars. "I guess you were expecting us, Merlin?" He asked.

The old wizard smiled. "Of course I was. Come in, come in. Everyone is waiting."

The group filed into Merlin's house. Sora grinned softly, seeing the piles of books all over the place. "Some things just don't change." He murmured.

"It looks like you've get even more books than you did the last time we were here, Merlin!" Donald cried, walking over to a pile three feet high of dusty volumes. Goofy chuckled.

"Well, how else is he supposed to know everything, Donald?"

Merlin coughed slightly. "I do _not_ know _everything_." He insisted. "That is why I continue to collect books. If you like, Donald, I can put you to work organizing them for me."

Everyone watched, amused, as the duck spluttered a little, trying to find a semi-polite way to refuse. "No thank you!" He finally said. "We have to protect the King...it would take me _years_ to sort all these books!"

A brown-haired man, sitting on the stone platform in the centre of the room with one of the aforementioned books open in his hand, looked up at them. He gave a tiny smirk, raking his free hand through his hair. "Sora. You're back again. Does this mean we should put the town on alert?" He asked mildly. Sora grinned at him.

"Nah, that's okay, Leon. If anything happens, we can take care of it!" He struck a hero-esque pose, causing Riku to smirk, Roxas to stifle laughter and Kairi to collapse in a fit of silent giggles. Hearing Roxas' attempts to maintain his composure, he turned, glaring at them all. "_What_?" He demanded. This, of course, spurred further laughter on his friends' part.

"Get used to it. He does this a lot." Donald muttered to them. He turned back only to find Sora's face inches from his, and jumped.

"Say that again, would you, Donald? I didn't quite hear you."

"Well, he said- Yeowch!" Goofy yelped, as Donald's staff came flying down and smacked him in the foot. Mickey chuckled.

"Now, fellas. Be nice, now."

"King Mickey, ain't it hard to work with these clowns?" Cid turned away from his computer to arch a brow at the group of them. Sora rounded on him.

"We're not _clowns_!" He protested. Leon stood, setting down the book he'd been reading.

"Who are your friends, Sora?" He asked, idly, trying to distract Sora from what looked to be building into quite a fantastic row. The brunet Keyblade Master straightened, glancing at Leon.

"This is Riku, and this is Roxas. Riku, Roxas, meet Merlin, Leon and Cid."

"Welcome to Radiant Garden." Leon nodded at them both.

"Great!" Yuffie grinned. "Now that we're all acquainted, can't I bring them out to spar? I haven't had a decent opponent in forever!"

Sora glanced at Roxas, first, who shrugged. "I guess I need the practice." He admitted.

After punching the air enthusiastically, Yuffie turned to Riku. "Are you going to come play too?" She asked, her eyes sparkling. Riku considered it for a moment or two. He glanced at Sora, who shrugged.

"It's your choice."

It took a moment or two more of thought, but finally Riku sighed. "Sure, I guess." He relented.

Yuffie clapped her hands with glee. "Wonderful!" She exclaimed. "C'mon, boys...we'll just pop outside the walls so we can spar undisturbed. Don't worry, Sora! I'll bring them back just fine!" She disappeared out the door.

"Hey." Sora called, stopping the two boys from leaving. He tossed a bottle or two of Potion at them. "You might need it. You'd be amazed."

"Have fun." Kairi smiled. Riku smirked a little before following Yuffie out. Roxas eyed the bottle in his hands, tucking it into his pocket before he, too, left Merlin's house.

"So, Sora. Do you guys have a reason to be out and about this time? Or is this just a social visit?" The tone of Leon's voice suggested that he wouldn't put it past them to fly out here simply for a visit.

Sora grinned at the taller brunet swordsman. "Nah, we've got another adventure ahead." He replied. "We're trying to find the ten keys to release the light of the universe. Hey..." He lit up, suddenly, as if something had just occurred to him. "This is a world just like all the others. Could there be a key here?" He looked down at Mickey, who folded his arms over his chest, thinking deeply.

"Hmm." He hummed tonelessly. "It's certainly possible. I mean, Ansem the Wise lived here. The Seven Princesses of Heart were needed to reveal the Keyhole to this world's heart. It sure is an important place."

"You all are looking for the keys to the universe's light?" Merlin asked, walking over. "So it has started again, has it?" When Mickey and Sora both nodded, the old wizard sighed, easing himself into his chair. "Have you found any of them yet?"

"No, we haven't. We just started looking...we left Master Yen Sid's yesterday to come here."

Reaching into the Bag of Holding sitting next to his chair, Merlin pulled out a slim, beat-up volume. "Do you have any idea where to look, or what to search for?"

Mickey stepped up onto the platform. "Master Yen Sid didn't have a lot of information for us." He replied. "Do you know anything more?"

Merlin set the book on the table. With a wave of his hand, the book flipped open and the pages turned themselves until it lay open to a list. Mickey leaned close.

"Light, dark, earth, air, fire, water, entropy, order, spirit, and memory." He read. "What're those, Merlin?"

"Those are the ten elements that make up this world. They are also the elements that these keys represent. The darkness, with the light trapped inside, was trapped behind a seal comprised of those ten elements. Only keys representing those elements can unlock the seal." With a flick of a finger, Merlin turned one more page. "I cannot tell you where you will find these keys, but they will be embodiments of these ten elements."

"How d'you know this stuff when Master Yen Sid didn't, Merlin?" Sora asked, stepping up to stand on the other side of the wizard's chair. Merlin chuckled.

"I have been around for a long time, Sora. I knew many of the past Keyblade wielders. All of the ones I have known have all been given the burden to attempt to unlock the light. Some of them found only a few keys. Some found almost all of them. By talking to them, I was able to compile a list of the ten keys needed. I also listed the worlds that the keys were usually found in, but the infernal ink degraded on me, and I wrote them down specifically so I would not have to remember them. So they are forgotten."

"Damn." Sora folded his arms across his chest. "So much for an easy way." He heard Kairi chuckle, and he turned to her. She grinned back at him.

"Honestly, Sora, did you _truly_ think it would be that easy?" She teased. A grin fought its way onto Sora's face.

"I guess not." He admitted. "But that doesn't mean it wouldn't've been nice."

Merlin glanced at Kairi and blinked, then stood slowly, almost stiffly. He nodded deeply, almost as if bowing, to the redheaded girl. "Kairi, the Seventh Princess of Heart. Forgive me, it has been quite a while since you lived here."

Kairi met his gaze, surprised, before looking down at her feet and toying with her hair uncomfortably. "It's okay. I don't remember a lot about living here, anyway." She shuffled a little, embarassed. Mirth twinkled softly in Merlin's eyes.

"Sora, would you mind terribly if I borrowed Kairi for a moment? With her permission, of course." When she looked back up at him, he smiled warmly at her. "You are working with Sora and the others to release the light, yes? You will need to learn how to use your magical abilities. They will be of great use...right, Sora?"

Sora grinned. "Yep. He's a great teacher, Kairi. You'll do fine."

Kairi smiled back sheepishly. "I guess I don't have much of a choice, then. I might as well learn how to use as many different abilities as I can." She turned to Merlin. "It sounds like fun."

The white-haired wizard walked over, gently touching Kairi's shoulder. "Come with me, then. This house is too small to use as a training ground." He led her out of the house. Kairi waved at Sora as she followed him.

"We'll be back!"

Sora grinned, waving back until she had left. He then sat down on the stone platform near Merlin's chair. "So, Leon. What's been going on?"

"Nothing new, really, since you left the last time." Leon shut the book in his hands, tucking a scrap of paper between the pages to mark his place. "We've been continuing to rebuild the town...Tron's been working with us from inside Ansem's computer to help. Slowly but surely, Radiant Garden is returning to what it was."

A smile filtered onto Sora's face. "I noticed. It's really coming back, Leon. I could tell the moment we touched down. The feeling is different...more like an everyday town than someplace that had been destroyed by the Heartless."

"See, Leon? It will heal." Aerith smiled at the two of them. "Soon, those who come here won't even be able to tell that Radiant Garden hasn't always been here. Once the repairs are finished, people will be able to forget the devastation."

"Yeah, well, we have to finish the repairs first." Ever cheerful, Cid didn't even pause in his typing to throw in his two cents. Sora couldn't help but grin.

"Such an optimist, aren't you, Cid?" He kidded. Cid gave a snort in response.

"Kid, we've still got a long ways to go before things are fixed here. You could be having little ones before we're finished." He arched a brow, lifting his hands from the keyboard and settling them on his knees so he could turn to Sora. The brunet Keyblade Master rubbed the back of his head, looking thoughtful.

"I guess I never really thought about it that way." He admitted.

Mickey grinned. "It won't take that long. We've got faith in you guys, and in Tron. We'll even help out, if you need."

The offer caused Leon's lips to twitch into a mini-smile. "If we need it, we'll call you guys. Merlin knows how to summon you."

Mickey smiled at Leon. "Good. If you guys summon us, we'll be here as fast as we can."

Cid's typing was the only thing that broke the silence that followed. Sora put his hands behind his head after a moment, and he arched back, stretching. _'I wonder how Riku and Roxas are doing against Yuffie.'_ He mused with a grin. _'Wonder how long they'll be gone?'_

Standing again, he wandered around. A blue book, about an inch and a half thick, lay on the pillow of Merlin's bed. Intrigued, Sora picked it up, examining it. He flipped it open to a random page and began to read to pass the time, sitting down on the mattress. Mickey looked up, saw Sora, and smiled softly. If he'd had a camera, he would have taken a picture. Few people, after meeting the brunet Keyblade Master the first time, would believe that he could settle down and be so quiet.

Sora lost himself in the story, waiting for his friends to return.

* * *

Another badly-ended chapter. -wail- It's kinda broken up into two...next chapter should finish off Radiant Garden and introduce the next world. Which shall remain a secret until they go there, lol. It's going to be fun. 

I love you guys, and thrive on your comments. Best wishes to everyone!

Hugs and slices of cheesecake(since I ran out of cookies XD)!

**Ivy J.**


	8. Chapter 8

I am SO sorry it took so long, guys. I hope you all haven't given up on me, but I'd honestly understand if you have. I love you all anywayfor sticking with me this long. And to Renkin-chan, especially, who managed to discover this fic while I was being idle and reviewed and made me really happy -heart-.

I've been finding it easier, and much more fun, to write _ahead _instead of what I'm supposed to be writing. So I've got more later stuff plotted out, but not so much right here, where my effort is SUPPOSED to be going. Oops. I've been introduced to Torchwood while I've been...off...and my muse has been tugging on me to write Janto (-heart- Those two boys are so adorable). Which hasn't gone too badly...I might post what I've got, just to get it out there, lol. And I've also got Writer's Craft this semester, which I adore, but it's been drawing on my creativity. So yeah. Lots of stuff.

I have to apologize again, though. This is really short. And I don't quite have next chapter finished, so this is all you've got at the moment. But next chapter is at least twice this long. So I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter, and I hope I can get #9 up for you within the next few weeks. It doesn't need all that much, really. I just have to get it to the end XD.

By the way, I hope everyone likes what I did with the sparring matches. I'm really not all that great at fighting scenes, so this was kinda my compromise. Especially since the people who commented on said sparring matches were divided over who should win XD

Rose93Darkness: That's what I'm doing, lol. I hope you like this...snippet. It doesn't feel right to call it a chapter. It's so shooooort! -wails-

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: You weren't the only one! -heart- I liked the idea too, of Sora reading. It was just...cute. And you weren't the only one who mentioned it being the Pooh book! XD But no, that's going to come along sometime, but not right now. They've got other places to go, and other things to do first.

REIzor Image: Yeah, and then it was my turn to disappear -sheepish look- Sorry 'bout that...And yes, that would have been hysterical...it could be an idea for a...a blooper reel? A 'deleted scenes' sidefic? XD Maybe. I'll have to think about that. Maybe AFTER I'm finally finished this. Which is looking like it's going to take a while. o-o; Yeah, Riku sleeping Sora amazing cuteness. Itreally is. Riku's been writing really easily for me lately...I don't know why, but I'm certainly not complaining! XD

aniuwolf: ZOMFG! A new reviewer! -heart- Yaaaay!-cough- Anyway. Ithank you for your kind comments, and hope that this latest bit isup topar. Hopeto seea comment from you soon:-)

Nanna: Yeah, yeah, you lazy thing. -poke- I know, I know. Donald r0x0rs your s0x0rs. God, I hate writing that. It hurts my eyes. But it's just not the same if I write it in proper English, lol.

Renkin-chan: Yay! Another new reviewer! -heart- I do like Cloud, although I'm not usually too great at the introspective moody guys, y'know? Leon seemed to go okay for me in these two chapters, though, so I'm thinking I might attempt Cloud. He'll probably end up showing up no matter what, lol.

So, after much waiting, I present: Deces Claves Luminibus, Chapter Eight! And I also digitally hand out a cupcake or muffin to anyone currently reading this, lol. With little hearts on top. Because I luff you guys. -heart-

* * *

"So, boys. How d'you want to go about doing this? Want to take turns?" 

Yuffie had led them outside the city gates, to a point in the canyon that widened to about fifty feet across, giving the three of them plenty of room. She stood facing Riku and Roxas, her hands fisted and planted on her hips. The silver-haired teen and the blond glanced at each other, then looked back at Yuffie. Riku arched a brow when he saw Roxas shrug out of the corner of his eye. A silent sigh escaped him.

"I don't think it really matters." He replied. "Which one of us do you want to fight first?"

"Hmm..." Yuffie tapped her cheek with one finger, looking between the two boys as if sizing them up. After a few moments of scrutinizing, she strode purposefully over to Riku and leaned forward slightly. "Let's see what you can do first, shall we?"

Riku smirked a little. "Works for me." He answered. Pulling the Way to Dawn out of nowhere, the silver-haired teen walked over to stand in front of Yuffie. Roxas turned and walked to the edge of the canyon, pulling himself up onto a protruding rock ledge so he could keep out of the way.

"Hey, Roxas!" Yuffie shouted at him. He looked up at her and blinked in surprise.

"What?"

"Can you keep score for us, kiddo?" She glanced at Riku and flashed an open hand at him. Whatever she meant by it, the silver-haired teen understood and nodded. Turning back to Roxas, she cupped her hands around her mouth and called, "First to five?"

"Oh!" Roxas grinned. "Sure, Yuffie!" He sat back, propping himself up with hands flat against the stone beneath him. He watched as Riku crouched slightly, put on the defensive as Yuffie approached him. She reached back, pulling a gigantic shuriken out from a harness on her back. The oversized throwing star was a good two feet across, its points as long as her hand. Holding it by the cross, she twisted her hand, lazily spinning the weapon back and forth, reminding Roxas of the way Axel toyed with his chakram during a battle. He smiled one-sidedly at the association.

"Here we go!"

With that, Yuffie lunged at Riku, shuriken in hand. The silver-haired teen flicked up the Way to Dawn to guard against the blow. Instead of hearing the satisfying _clang_ of metal on metal, however, Riku suddenly found himself enveloped in a cloud of dun-coloured smoke. Taken off-guard, he blinked, looking around warily. The dark-haired woman was nowhere to be seen.

'_Oh, of course. Ninja. You idiot._'

Riku closed his eyes, realizing that they weren't doing him any good whatsoever in the thick smoke. Almost instantly, his hearing and awareness sharpened; by-products of spending a good half a year fighting blindfolded.

The faintest breath of air warned him to a presence behind him. Riku spun and blocked a breath too late; luckily, this time, the angle of the Way to Dawn ensured that he wouldn't get smacked in the head. A brief flicker of a smile touched his lips as he recalled _that_ match. He turned into Yuffie's momentum, allowing the shuriken to slip off his Keyblade. As a result, Yuffie pitched forward slightly before she caught herself and spun to face Riku again. A smirk lit her features, giving her a slightly sinister air as her tan smoke blew away. "You're not bad, kiddo."

As the smoke cleared completely, Riku noticed a kunai with a blade about six inches long had appeared in the petite ninja's left hand. His brows rose. "Two weapons? That seems a little cheap, if you ask me."

"I should think you'd be flattered." Yuffie countered. Leaping at him again, she anticipated his dodge, sailing past him as he lunged to his left. A tower of rock nearby provided a push-off surface, and she flew back past him, deftly tapping one of Riku's shoulders with her shuriken as she passed. "My point!" She called in an annoyingly sing-song voice, grinning as she touched the ground again. Roxas, catching the flash of annoyance in Riku's eyes, grinned back. He held up his hands, counting off Yuffie's first point with his left.

The next two points went to Riku, who managed to tap the dark-haired woman's ankle as she flipped over his head, then just touched her arm with the tip of the angel's wing on the end of his Keyblade. Yuffie wasn't frustrated by this at all; in fact, approval lit in her eyes when the Way to Dawn scratched her arm.

Roxas watched intently, counting off the points as the two circled each other. Soon, Yuffie pulled off some sort of whirlwind move, far too fast for the blond to follow, easily knocking Riku off his feet. The silver-haired teen shook his head to clear it as the ninja called two points to Roxas, who waited for confirmation from Riku before he gave her both points. Yuffie drew back, toying with her shuriken again, content to let her opponent recover himself before they resumed fighting.

This time, Riku moved first, lunging towards Yuffie. The ninja smirked and disappeared again, this time not even bothering with the smoke. The silver-haired teen pulled himself back, turning to keep an eye on his surroundings.

A shadow drew his eye upwards. The dark-haired woman had somehow appeared above his head, and was now plummeting towards him. Cursing under his breath, Riku brought the Way to Dawn up into position to block, throwing her off when the shuriken clanged against his Keyblade. Yuffie somersaulted through the air, landing on her feet with her back to him. A Dark Aura blast sent her reeling, and in that instant, Riku darted forward and tapped the petite ninja's shoulder blade. "_My_ point." He smirked. Yuffie spun again to face him, smirking back.

"If you're going to use magic, then I'll just finish this." She pushed off from the ground, rising into the air. Holding her shuriken up in front of her face, she grinned ferally at him, then threw it. It flew around her in a widening circle, hurtling towards Riku. He blocked, but it flipped over his block, gently tapping the top of his head as at flew past. When it came around for another pass, the silver-haired teen tried again, using his Dark Shield. The shuriken bounced off it and flew back towards Yuffie, who caught it. She grinned. "Well, I got one point, anyway!"

Her kunai suddenly flew from her grasp, hurtling towards Riku, who easily reflected it with another Dark Shield. They met again, shuriken to Keyblade, Yuffie's ninja training and lighter frame letting her set the pace. They traded blows, faster and faster, until Roxas didn't even bother trying to follow their movements. Internally, he hoped that the ninja woman would go easier on him; he was rather out of practice, and far more used to using two Keyblades instead of just the one.

Suddenly, everything stopped. The blond teen looked up to see that the lightning-fast flurry of blows had ceased. Riku was down on one knee, the edge of his Keyblade pressed against Yuffie's torso. His other hand was pressed to the ground behind him for balance. Yuffie, on the other hand, was on her feet, with her kunai tucked securely under Riku's chin. Both were breathing hard from the match, but a grin flickered across Yuffie's features. Riku answered with a half-smirk.

"I guess that means I win." The dark-haired ninja backed off, the razor-sharp edge of her knife pulling away. Riku let himself sit back, nodding.

"I guess it does." He conceded, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Good match." As the Way to Dawn disappeared, he held out his hand. Yuffie took ahold of it, helping him to his feet.

"_Excellent_ match, kiddo. Sora's usually too nice to really put his all into a spar with any of us. It's been a while since I really had to work to keep up a lead." She winked at him.

Riku actually chuckled at that. "I'll take _that_ as a compliment. Thanks." Turning, he walked away, heading back towards the city. Yuffie shook her head, grinning. She turned around to Roxas.

"C'mon, kid!" She called. "Let's see what _you_ can do, now!"

With a grin, the blond hopped off the ledge where he'd been sitting. He walked over to the petite ninja and pulled out his Keyblade. He was startled for a moment when he saw the red and silver circles instead of his Nihility Keyblade, then remembered and smiled softly, tracing the contours of one chakram-esque shape with a finger. Yuffie leaned over, curious.

"Ooh, that's a pretty one. Where'd you get that?" She asked. Roxas was about to respond when a shout echoed through the canyon, coming from the direction of Radiant Garden. Quickly, Yuffie darted away, whipping out her shuriken and racing off towards the shout. Slightly embarrassed that she'd reacted more swiftly than he did, Roxas followed her.

They found Riku practically surrounded by Heartless. A circle of Armoured Knights slowly and steadily advanced on him, the air above them interspersed with Surveillance Robots and Bookmasters. With a sharp, uttered curse, Yuffie threw her shuriken, taking out a whole line of them. At the distraction, Riku looked up. When he saw them, he nodded his thanks before darting into the fray, swiping at several of the small armoured Heartless.

"C'mon, boys. Let's see what you can _really_ do!" Yuffie cried. She, too, threw herself into full action, leaping into the air to attack a Bookmaster and its two flanking Surveillance Robots. The book-wielding Heartless shot ice crystals into her face, spurring more expletives from the ninja woman.

"Dark Firaga!" Riku shouted. Black-threaded flames surrounded him, knocking two Armoured Knights and a Bookmaster away. The Armoured Knights were stunned for a few moments, but the Bookmaster recovered itself and shot bolts of magical fire back at the silver-haired teen. With a curse, he dodged, summoning a Dark Shield for extra protection.

A Surveillance Robot dove at Roxas, laser flashing. Dropping to one knee, the blond raised his Keyblade, knocking the tiny flying Heartless away. The impact of a Bookmaster to his shoulder sent him sprawling onto his back, and he looked up just in time to see an Armoured Knight leap at him. Roxas lifted his Keyblade again to block, steeling himself against the blow. It was just about to run into his weapon when a dark blue and white bolt crackling with energy slammed into it, knocking it off course. In surprise, the blond looked up just in time to see Riku turn away again, a flash of annoyance in his turquoise eyes.

'_Get up, you fool. You're nothing but a target, splayed out on the ground like that.'_ The silver-haired teen's gaze read. Hurriedly, Roxas did so, pulling himself to his feet.

Somehow, he realized that this was going to be a long battle.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the door to Merlin's house opened. Sora glanced up as first Roxas, then Yuffie, then finally Riku trudged inside, looking rather worn down. An amused smile toyed with his lips. "I think I might have liked to see those matches. You guys really tired yourselves out." 

Roxas laughed half-heartedly. "Well, the Heartless might have had something to do with that." He replied. Eyes suddenly narrowing in concern, Sora set the book down and stood.

"Heartless?" He echoed.

Riku nodded, sitting down on the stone platform in the centre of the room. "Yeah, Heartless. I ran into a pack of them on the way back here...Roxas and Yuffie interrupted their match to help out."

Sora glanced at Leon, whose steel-blue eyes were set in concern. "Have they been around since we've been gone?" The brunet teen asked. Leon shook his head.

"Not really." He admitted. "One or two, here and there...certainly not a _pack_ of them."

"Oh, dear." Mickey's expression was troubled. "That probably means there's someone out there who feels like it's a good idea to stop us."

Riku scoffed, folding his arms over his chest and leaning back slightly, resting against the chair sitting on the platform. "Hmm, I wonder who _that_ could possibly be?" He inquired sardonically. "Who, out of all the people in all the worlds, could possibly have a motive to stop us?"

"Just because Maleficent is still out there doesn't mean that she's working to stop us." Sora retorted, glancing over at the silver-haired teen. "We have no clue that she even has any idea what we're doing. Maybe she's just involved in some other...evil-doing, and the Heartless are just around because of that."

There was a stifled laugh from Roxas. "'Evil-doing'?" He asked incredulously. The brunet grinned sheepishly at him, shrugging as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Hey, I'll take a better word if you have one."

A poof of smoke interrupted them. When it winked out of existence again, it left behind Merlin and Kairi. The redheaded girl clutched something in her hands, and was practically glowing with pride. Merlin, too, looked pleased with how things had gone.

"Hey, Kairi. Looks like you were a good student, huh?" Mickey grinned at her. She nodded, cheeks touched with a soft pink as she held whatever was in her hands to her chest.

"Merlin says I specialize in healing and defensive magics." She replied, beaming. "And look! Look what he gave me!" She pulled her flowered Keyblade out of the air, then quickly swapped the keychain with the one in her hand. After the weapon reformed itself, she showed it off proudly to the boys.

A transparent blue material threaded with pink swirled around a gold central core that looked much like a magic wand. The grip was also gold, but smooth and slightly wavy to fit to the curves of the hand. More wisps and swirls in blue, pink, and purple formed the rest of the handle. The keychain was a braid of thin chains in blue, pink, white, and gold, the charm a seven-pointed gold star.

Sora reached out to trace the form of the weapon the redheaded girl now held. "Wow, Kairi. It's pretty." He grinned up at her. "It suits you." When he saw her flush, he laughed a little.

"I guess this means you're actually going to be useful now?" Riku arched a brow at her. Knowing he was teasing, Kairi did nothing more than half-scowl and gently shove his shoulder.

Merlin cleared his throat. When everyone looked at him, surprised, he gave a bit of a smile. "Now, I suspect you won't want to be here much longer, now that you have places to go and keys to find." He remarked. "But always know that you are welcome here if you need to rest, and my skills as a healer are always available to you."

Mickey smiled warmly. "Thank you, Merlin. And if you need us, summon us. We'll be here as quickly as we can come." He promised. "Right, fellas?" Grinning, he looked around at the others.

Roxas laughed. "Somehow, I'm thinking that if he summons us, we won't exactly have much choice in the matter." He replied. Sora grinned at him.

"Not really, no." He admitted. A firm hand came down on his shoulder, and he looked up into Leon's steely blue eyes.

"You all be careful out there, you hear?" The brunet swordsman murmured, in a rare moment of visible concern. "We're counting on you."

Sora grinned again, ever cheerful. "We'll be okay, Leon." He promised. "We'll find those keys. It'll be easy."

* * *

"He looked kinda worried, Sora." 

Blinking, Sora glanced over at Kairi, who appeared to be rather deep in thought. The two of them sat in their seats in the cockpit of the Gummi ship, keeping an eye on the controls and their route. They'd left Radiant Garden about half an hour ago, and were currently on their way to the nearest world, labelled on the charts as "Jamestown". It was curious how every time he went on an adventure, new worlds seemed to appear almost randomly.

"What'd you say, Kairi?" He asked curiously. He hadn't really been paying attention, more involved with wondering what this Jamestown place would be like. The redhead looked up at him, a little troubled.

"Leon, Sora. He seemed pretty worried about us." She explained. "Somehow, that worries _me_...makes me think he knows more about all this than he's letting on."

Reaching out, Sora placed a gentle hand on Kairi's shoulder. "Don't worry, Kairi." He sent her a confident grin. "We can handle it. All of us, together? We can handle _anything_."

The brunet's confidence was infectious. Kairi found herself smiling despite her worries. "If you insist." She teased lightly. Sora laughed.

"I do insist, because I _know_." He assured her. "Trust me. So long as we have faith in ourselves and each other, we'll find these keys easy. And then we'll release the light and everyone will be at peace again." Grinning again, he sat back. "And after that, we can all go home and live out the rest of our lives on the Islands, without any threats from the Heartless or the Nobodies, or anything. We'll go back to being normal kids again; go to school, get jobs. It'll be great."

With a sigh, Kairi leaned back in her chair, blue eyes distant as she gazed out at the stars. "Will we ever be able to just be normal kids again, Sora?" She asked quietly. "We were practically celebrities for a while there when we got back. Will things ever settle down enough for people to just...forget?"

Sora smiled. "I'm sure they will, Kairi. It might take a little while, but sooner or later we'll just be ordinary people again. Like Radiant Garden. Eventually people will forget that the Heartless actually originated there, and it'll just be a normal place again. Or, you know, it won't be common knowledge." He corrected himself, grinning. Kairi giggled at him.

"I suppose you're right." She relented. "All right. I trust you. We're going to do this, succeed where no one else has before, and then we're going to go home and just be normal again. Right?"

"Exactly! Now you've got the idea!"

The two shared a laugh. It was nice to be able to laugh, and to believe so strongly in what they were doing that it was just _going_ to happen. It just was. But a grim little voice kept nagging at the back of the redhead's mind.

_'Let's just hope we can harness this same...energy...later on, when we might really need it.'_

* * *

Again, I apologize for the short chapter. I hope to have #9 out soon. Seriously, people, poke me from time to time. I get lazy if I'm not poked at. Just don't do it too often, please. -sweatdrop-

Love to you all!

Ivy J.


	9. Chapter 9

Yes! I am back again! XD. I actually had this done the day after I posted Ch 8, but I didn't want to post it then because then I'd be behind again. So I gave myself a week to get a good bit of Ch 10 done, and to work on pretty much anything else that caught my eye (I had a poetry collection due in Writer's Craft, and I am _not_ a poet. At all. So that took some serious work XD). So yeah. That's my week for you.

Luff to my two newest reviewers! Seriously, people. Your comments brighten my day. Always. It's really nice to be able to read through my entire list of reviews and smile after each and every one. 

Rose93darkness: Glad you like it, as always! -heart-

Renkin-chan: Really? -blush- I didn't mind my fight scene, but I didn't think it was anything really special. Do you have any idea how hard it is to actually write a decent fight scene? Y'know, because of my lousy USB drive, that scene probably went through four different revisions. I'm glad I didn't beat it to death XD

Sy Druid: I really do appreciate the comments. And you're right, I do use those descriptions often. Too often. I actually got that critique from a friend of mine while he was reading a side piece that may or may not be included in this...-grin- I think it's partly because I haven't been working with these boys all that long. I haven't been able to think of too many other ways to describe each of them. Maybe I should just take an hour or two (or a freewrite session in English, lol) and just brainstorm a whole bunch of them. Hmm.

Sakura999: At the risk of sounding overly proud of myself, I like the way I'm portraying Sora too, lol. I mean, I love cute, naive, overly-childish Sora, but I think that if you're trying to stay in the actual game timeline, he would have grown up more than that, y'know? And personally, I think my plot is crazy. Absolutely nuts. But I suppose if you liked it, I'm doing a pretty good job, huh? That site you mentioned, too, looks interesting. I might just check it out. 

NaroRau: God, not you! XD Nah, just kidding. You know I luff you. -hugs- But you need to switch to decaf, sweetie. And speaking of Kairi and Sora, they really _were_ cute, weren't they? Damn. Sora's just too bloody adorable, lol. I really do love him.

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: I hate to tell you this, but he actually did lose XD. Only by a point, though. And Yuffie was rather impressed anyway, so I don't think he took it too badly, lol. And now you don't have to wait to see what Jamestown is like; it's here! -heart-

I'm surprised no one asked what world Jamestown was, or mentioned it if they did know. That's okay, though. You're all finding out now anyway. 

So, without further ado: Chapter 9!

* * *

When the white light that dropped them off on the world disappeared, Sora blinked and looked around. The group of them stood in the centre of a forest clearing. The air was fresh with the minty scent of pine, the ground springy under their feet from dropped needles and other mast. 

"Doesn't exactly look like a town to me." Riku quipped dryly. Roxas arched a brow at him, but said nothing.

"Maybe the town's nearby." Kairi suggested. "Maybe we should- oh!" She suddenly cried out as a weight landed on her shoulders. A tug on her earlobe told her that whatever it was had pulled one of her paopu-shaped earrings right out of her ear. "Ow!" She winced, touching her earlobe making sure the creature hadn't ripped the skin when it snatched her earring.

A black and grey furry animal with a striped tail leapt from Kairi's shoulders, scampering a few feet away before it turned around, sat back on its haunches, and examined its treasure, nibbling on it as if to taste the metal. Its rodent-like face was marked around its eyes with a black mask. The rest of the creature's body was shaped much like the Cheshire Cat from Wonderland, although its paws were smaller. It was about two-thirds Mickey's height. 

"What _is_ that?" Roxas asked. He glanced around, letting his gaze settle on Mickey, whose brow was furrowed slightly as if he were in deep thought. He had to dance a little to look around Donald and Goofy, who had automatically jumped in front of him when the creature had appeared.

"I think it's called a 'raccoon'." The mouse king replied. 

Kairi knelt, holding out her hand as if the strange animal were a dog. The raccoon sniffed at it a little, before it turned and scampered back into the bushes ringing the clearing. Odd chittering noises could be heard from the patch of brush the animal had disappeared into.

Sora approached the bushes, curious. As he got closer, he could hear a very human voice whispering words in a strange language he had never heard. The tone made it sound as if the person was scolding the raccoon for its theft. Twittering noises also accompanied the whispers. "Hello?" Sora called, softly. The noises abruptly stopped.

He stepped a little closer, peering at the bushes as if trying to see through them. Suddenly, something appeared between the leaves, and he was so startled he jerked back and fell on his ass. 

_Wide brown eyes had suddenly appeared within the foliage, staring _back_ at him!_

"Sora? Are you okay?" Riku called. 

The brunet nodded, still staring at the bushes where the eyes had been. They had disappeared as soon as the deep brown, curious gaze had met his. Getting back to his feet, he edged closer to the brush again. "It's okay, you can come out. We're not going to hurt you."

After a few moments, the brown eyes reappeared, staring out at him. Sora held his hands up, palms out, hoping to appear unthreatening. He had to wait several minutes more, but eventually a young woman with dark bronze skin and black hair rose out of the brush. She wore a short dress that looked to be made of some sort of soft, light-coloured leather. She watched Sora constantly with her dark, wary eyes as he stepped back and held out a hand. 

"My name is Sora." He greeted, a cheerful, friendly grin on his face. "What's yours?"

Her gaze flicked between the brunet's face and his outstretched, open hand. "You are part of John Smith's village?" She inquired softly, an odd lilt in her voice. 

Sora blinked, confused. "John Smith?" He echoed. "Uh, no. Does he...look like us?"

Still wary, the dark-haired woman nodded slowly. "He has pale skin like you do, and hair like that one." She pointed at Roxas. "But your clothing is more strange."

"Where is this John Smith?" Riku asked, canting his head. The young woman's gaze promptly flicked to him. Her eyes suddenly widened, and she flinched back as if frightened. Surprised by her reaction, Riku's eyes narrowed slightly, curious and a little wary. He certainly didn't recognize her; how could she be afraid of him if she'd never even seen him before? 

"Whoa, whoa. It's okay. He's my friend, he's not going to hurt you." Sora slipped immediately into peacekeeper mode, raising his hands again. 

"Yeah, we wouldn't bring someone here to hurt you!" Goofy chuckled. "We're not like that."

The young woman stepped back once more, her fear-filled gaze still pinned on Riku. "Only a demon could have hair like an elder with the body of a young warrior." 

Said "demon" arched a thin silver brow skeptically. "I assure you, I'm as human as you are." He replied. His expression turned pensive for a few moments before he continued. "In fact, here. I'll show you." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small pocketknife, flicking it open.

"Riku, what are you-?" Sora's inquiry was cut off when the other teen raised his hand. Carefully, he touched the tip of the blade to the pad of his thumb, then slid it into the skin, biting back a wince. When he pulled it out, bright red blood welled up there. 

"Look, see?" He held out his hand to the young woman as the small cut began to bleed, meeting her eyes with his to increase the chances of her believing him. "I bleed red, just like any other person."

The young woman reached out and gingerly touched the wound in Riku's finger, pulling away a small amount of blood and rubbing it between her fingers as if to test its authenticity. Seemingly convinced, she relaxed visibly. "My name is Pocahontas." She said, nodding. 

Sora nodded back. "This is Riku, Roxas, Kairi, Ki- erm, Mickey, Donald and Goofy." 

The mouse king chuckled softly as Sora cut off his title. He glanced at the brunet Keyblade Master, who looked a little sheepish, and nodded, letting Sora know that he didn't mind not being referred to as 'King'. 

Pocahontas blinked curiously at the redheaded girl when she was introduced. "Are you a scout party?" When Sora canted his head at her, confused, she gestured to Kairi. "You have women with you." She said simply. "Or do women hunt alongside the men in your tribe?"

"Oh, we're not hunting." Kairi replied with a smile. "We've come to make friends with your leader, and to request your help on our quest."

"We're looking for a Key." Roxas added. "Is there anyone in your village who knows the history around here?"

Pocahontas looked curiously at Roxas. "I don't know what a 'key' is. I've never heard of such a thing, and I don't believe my father or Kekata has either." She paused for a few moments, deep in thought, before she brightened. "Perhaps Grandmother Willow can help you. She knows much about the world that my people do not." 

"Grandmother Willow?" Sora asked. 

Pocahontas nodded, then slowly smiled. "I believe Grandmother Willow would like you. Come with me, I'll bring you to her." 

Turning, the Native woman slid into the forest, her bare feet making hardly a noise. The raccoon from earlier scampered out of the bushes and leapt, landing on Pocahontas' shoulder. A tiny, blue-green hummingbird flew up and perched on the creature's ear. When the animal pounced on her shoulders, Pocahontas paused, reaching up and pulling something out of its paws. She examined it curiously, then turned back to the group.

"This belongs to one of you, does it not?" She asked, holding out Kairi's paopu earring. The redhead blinked.

"Oh, my earring." Kairi took it from the dark-haired woman's hand, slipping the hook back into the hole in her ear. "Is that animal your pet?"

Pocahontas chuckled softly. "Please, forgive Meeko. He likes to collect things that glitter or shine. He is a friend of mine, and travels with me in the forest." She reached up towards the raccoon's ear, where the hummingbird sat, chirping at the odd creature in a rather irritated manner. "And this is Flit."

At the sound of its name, the tiny bird cocked its head towards the Native woman, then hopped onto her finger. Sora reached out as if to coax the hummingbird onto his hand, only to have it drawn back by Pocahontas.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She warned. "Flit doesn't like new people...he's already nipped John Smith twice."

Sora chuckled. "Okay. I'll let him get used to us first." The tiny bird hopped back up onto Pocahontas' head, eyeing the brunet and his friends suspiciously. "So...we're going to see Grandmother Willow?"

Pocahontas smiled. "Yes, we are. Come...follow me to the river." She turned and disappeared into the forest, leaving the group to follow her. 

* * *

At the river, the bronze-skinned woman walked over to a dugout canoe that lay on the riverbank. Stepping into the water, she eased the boat into the river, picking up a paddle from the inside at the same time. Meeko hopped from her shoulders and scampered into the stern of the canoe, leaning over the edge as if he were a lookout of some kind. As the group walked out of the forest behind her, she looked back at them. A thought suddenly creased her brow as she looked between them and her boat. 

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked. 

"I don't believe my canoe will hold us all." She admitted, after a few moments. "I could go get another one from my village. Grandmother Willow is not far, but the journey is much longer on foot."

"Well, Kairi and Riku and I are all really good at paddling boats." Sora volunteered. "We could help, if you need it." 

With a small grin, Pocahontas tugged her canoe back up onto the riverbank, setting the paddle back inside. "I will get a second canoe, then, not a bigger one. You can help when we travel upstream to where Grandmother Willow lives." She walked over to Kairi and held out a hand. "Perhaps you could come with me?" She asked. "I will need someone to steer the second canoe back here."

Kairi lit up. "To your village? Of course I'll come!" She grinned. Sora's slightly downcast expression made her giggle when she looked at him. "Don't worry, Sora. I'll tell you guys everything when we get back." She promised.

Walking back and sitting in her canoe again, Pocahontas gave the rest of the group a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry, but your friend Kairi will be received better by my tribe. My father and his warriors have quarrelled with John Smith's men, and as a result, my family and friends would be uneasy around you. But she will be taken as less of a threat. I assure you, I won't let anything happen to her. I am the chief's daughter, my people will listen to me."

"Don't worry, Pocahontas. We trust you. Right, guys?" Sora glanced at Riku, Roxas and Mickey. The mouse king gave the Native woman a cheerful smile.

"Sure." Roxas nodded. Riku, too, gave a nod, looking thoughtful. Pocahontas smiled back at them.

"We'll be back!" Kairi called, as she and the bronze-skinned woman began to steer the boat downstream. Sora watched until they rounded a bend in the river and disappeared out of sight, feeling slightly envious. He hoped that they would get to see Pocahontas' village sometime. With a sigh, the brunet teen sat down on the grass, leaning back and propping himself up with his hands. 

"So, guys. How d'you like adventuring so far?" He grinned at Roxas and Riku. 

Riku scoffed slightly, pressing his wounded thumb to his lips. It was a small cut, he'd made sure of that, but it hadn't yet stopped bleeding and it was a little annoying. "It's not like we've done a lot of adventuring yet, Sora." He replied.

"I suppose it could be worse." Roxas shrugged. "We could be cutting down armies of Heartless."

"Don't mention Heartless armies! We don't need any more of those!" Donald squawked furiously, looking around with his wand brandished as if afraid that Roxas' mention of an army could bring one to them. 

Mickey chuckled. "Like the one that attacked Radiant Garden?" He glanced at Sora, catching the brunet's grin. 

"Well, _that_ one was kinda fun. Fighting with Leon, Yuffie, Cloud, and Tifa. And then that huge battle with all those little...what were they called? I think Jiminy called them 'Surveillance Robots'. If I managed to grab one of them, I could smack the top of its head and spin around and take out a whole bunch of Heartless at once, 'cause they had this laser attack." Sora sighed, looking up at the bright blue sky. "And all those little Armoured Knight Heartless."

Riku arched a brow at him. "An _army_?" He asked, rather incredulously. Sora raised his head again, glancing at the taller teen. 

"Yep. It was a good couple thousand Heartless. Donald, Goofy and I helped the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee hold them off, didn't we, guys?" He grinned at his travelling partners. Donald rolled his eyes, but Goofy returned the grin in his own silly way. "Oh! And before that, Demyx showed up, and we had to get rid of him." The brunet exhaled heavily, looking thoughtful at the memory of the scatterbrained Nobody. "I wonder if he's come back."

"Demyx?!" Roxas couldn't help but laugh. "They sent _Demyx_ after you? What was the Organization thinking? He's a musician, not a fighter!" 

Sora chuckled too. "I'd noticed." He replied. "We'd met him before at Olympus Coliseum. He had to read his orders off a cue card. We had no idea what to make of him, especially since he kept calling me 'Roxas'." The young Keyblade Master grinned, looking up at his ex-Nobody. "I had no idea what that meant right then. It didn't even occur to me that he - and the rest of the Organization, for that matter - were talking about you, my Nobody, until Riku clued me in." He glanced at the silver-haired teen, who sent him a smug grin.

"You always did have your clueless moments, Sora." Riku teased. Sora half-scowled, softly kicking his friend's foot. Mickey laughed a little at their antics. 

"Anyway, I wonder if Demyx has come back, too. He was kinda funny. If things had been different, I think we might possibly have ended up friends." The brunet thought about that for a moment. Donald scowled at him.

"You could make friends with _anyone_, Sora."

Goofy blinked at the duck. "Aww, c'mon, Donald. You say that like it's a bad thing."

Riku sat down on the grass beside Sora. "Well, he _is_ right, though. I mean, you managed to make friends with Axel just fine, and he started out wanting to turn you into a Heartless." He reminded the younger teen. Roxas blinked.

"Axel was trying to turn Sora into a Heartless?" He echoed. "Why would he do that?" He settled down on Sora's other side. Sora winced a little. 

"At first he was." The brunet admitted. "He told me...he wanted to see you. After you became part of me again, the only way for him to do that was for you to be created again...which meant that I had to turn back into a Heartless. But I guess, somehow, he saw you in me. So he stopped." There was a slight pause, before he grimaced slightly. "I think part of that was the fact that the Organization turned on him, though. They wanted me around so I could keep killing Heartless for them and keep building Kingdom Hearts." 

Roxas sighed a little, resting his folded arms on his drawn-up knees. "When we saw him in Twilight Town, Axel mentioned 'reincarnation'. For him to have been reincarnated, he would've had to die, right?" Sora bit his lip and nodded when the blond glanced at him. "How did it happen? Do you know, Sora?"

"I told you he opened the way to The World That Never Was for us, right? He had to take down a whole bunch of Nobodies to do it. It took too much out of him." The brunet Keyblade Master looked down, not meeting Roxas' eyes. "He told me then why he'd been trying to turn me into a Heartless. How he wanted to see you."

The blond blew out a breath, his wry smile touched with sadness. "He can be such an idiot sometimes." He murmured. 

"You'd know better than I would." Sora chuckled softly. "I'm kinda glad he got a second chance, though. He wasn't all that bad of a guy...he just missed his best friend. I can understand that." He glanced at Riku with a smile. Riku half-smiled back. 

Watching them, Mickey smiled to himself. It was nice to see Riku with his friends again. He'd been alone for too long. No one deserved to be so isolated from everyone they knew. 

"Hey, guys!"

Everyone looked up. Kairi waved from a second canoe, paddling alongside Pocahontas. The Native woman steered towards the riverbank, allowing the vessel to ground itself. Kairi followed suit. 

"All aboard!" She grinned. 

Sora clambered to his feet, grinning back. "That was quick." He replied. The redhead gave him a lopsided grin. 

"Pocahontas remembered that her best friend...Nakoma, was it?" When Pocahontas nodded, Kairi smiled and turned back to Sora. "...Nakoma, had hidden a canoe just a little ways downstream. We just have to remember to put it back. Apparently they borrow each others' canoes all the time, so it won't matter so long as it gets back to its hiding spot."

"So you never did get to go to the village?" Riku inquired from over Sora's shoulder. 

Kairi shook her head. "No, but she's promised us that once things settle down, she'll take us all there."

"That might take a little while." Roxas' voice sounded uneasy. Everyone turned to face him. 

Several Heartless had risen from the shadows behind them. The everyday Shadows had been joined by fair-sized dark blue Heartless shaped like wolves, and some that looked like Shadows with little feathered headbands that wielded tiny throwing axes. 

Pocahontas immediately reached into the bottom of her canoe, pulling out a fair-sized bow and a quiver of arrows fletched with bright red and gold. She stepped out of the boat and stood next to Roxas, who already had his Keyblade drawn. "What are these demons?" She asked warily, notching an arrow.

"These are called Heartless." Mickey told her, deflecting an axe with his Keyblade. Goofy stood beside him, Save the King shield at the ready. 

As a wolf-shaped Heartless advanced on her, Pocahontas let an arrow fly with astonishing precision. It pierced the dark creature right between the eyes and flew _through_ the Heartless to bury its tip in the ground. The Heartless howled in fury and pain, but not much else happened. The Native woman's dark brown eyes widened in shock. 

"Here, I'll help." Roxas swiped at the wolf-shape with his Keyblade. Four quick strikes and a Thunder spell from Donald, and the Heartless howled again and fell, dissolving and releasing its captive heart. 

Mickey darted around the couple of Heartless he had drawn. He threw a Pearl at one, leaping up and slicing at another. The third lunged for him, only to fall moments later, drawing a surprised glance from the mouse king. Riku nodded at him, his hand still bristling with the energy of his Dark Aura attack. Mickey nodded back in thanks before continuing to fight the other two Heartless still attacking him. 

Riku used his last Dark Aura blast to fend off the wolf-Heartless that suddenly leapt at him. His Keyblade pierced the thing right between the forelegs, and it snarled and swiped at him as it faded away, just barely missing slicing open his cheek. He spun to deal with another one just as it threw its little tomahawk. It flew towards the silver-haired teen's shoulder, only to be deflected by a sudden wall of energy. When he turned, Kairi waved her Keyblade at him, grinning. He nodded back, a half-smile on his face, and then turned and lunged towards the Heartless that had thrown the tiny axe. It shrieked and jumped at him, claws bared. A couple of quick blows was all Riku needed to deal with the thing. 

Sora finished off three Shadows, one right after another. A quick Magnet spell drew another two Heartless close together for a few moments so he could hack at them as well. One went off to attack Riku, who finished it off just fine, and the other went for Pocahontas and Roxas. The blond teen struck the Heartless with his Keyblade, and the Native woman shot it with a couple of arrows.

After a few moments, the Heartless finally stopped spawning. Mickey took care of the last one with a Pearl, watching as it crumbled to the ground. A little pink heart flew into the air, disappearing into the sky after a few moments. 

"My people have been attacked by those Heartless demons." Pocahontas murmured, her eyes following the heart as it vanished into the air. "Only once or twice before you came along, however. We were able to defeat them once, but the battle was much longer." She turned to Sora, who still had the Kingdom Key out. "What kind of weapons are those?" She asked curiously. 

Sora grinned and held it up for her to see. "The key that we're looking for? It's probably shaped like this." He replied. "This is a Keyblade. It's a special weapon for fighting Heartless that only certain people can use, like my friends and I. But don't worry...once we're finished finding the keys we need to find, the Heartless should leave your people alone."

Understanding dawned on Pocahontas' face. "So this is what a 'key' looks like." She traced the weapon's contours with her hand. "You are all brave warriors, to face such tireless foes." With a sigh, she stepped into her canoe. "Come...Grandmother Willow should know something about the key you need to find." 

Kairi sat in the other canoe, joined by Mickey and Goofy. Roxas hesitated a moment, glancing between both canoes, before he carefully sat in Pocahontas', just in front of Donald. Sora settled between the duck and Roxas, and when he noticed how uneasy the blond seemed, he chuckled.

"Not one for boats, huh, Roxas?" He teased. Roxas grinned sheepishly. 

"I don't think I've ever been _in_ one."

Riku took a seat in Kairi's canoe, picking up the other paddle. "We're going upstream, right?" He glanced at Pocahontas, who nodded. 

"I'll lead you." The Native woman passed a paddle back to Sora, who held it easily. Pocahontas nudged the canoe back into the water and turned it with a few quick pushes off the riverbed with her paddle, then began to steer it upstream. Kairi did the same, with Riku's assistance.

Roxas watched the riverbanks in awed silence as they travelled upstream. This land was so..._wild_. Several times he saw animals like deer or elk drinking from offshoots of the river, and they would raise their liquid brown eyes to stare at the passing canoes. Small animals would cross the river on the trunks of fallen trees that they would just pass under. Fish would actually leap out of the water in front of them to catch low-flying insects. 

The raccoon, Meeko, scampered around Sora and jumped onto Roxas' shoulders, scaring the hell out of the blond. The animal chittered at him as if laughing, then toddled over to settle in Pocahontas' lap. The Native woman petted him absently with one hand, keeping her sharp eyes on the river ahead.

At a branch of the river, Pocahontas turned the canoe slightly to steer them down a narrow, fast-flowing stream. Soon it widened out into a calm lagoon, dotted with trees that had flexible, low-hanging branches. The dark-haired woman paddled towards the largest one at the far edge, ducking her head to pass through the branches. 

The canoes drifted up onto the bank where the giant tree sprawled. Sora looked around, awed. The space beneath the branches of the tree was at least twice the size of the Secret Place back on the islands. Gnarled roots were interwoven with each other, creating almost a 'floor' to walk on, even when they would be normally walking in water. The roots continued up for a good six feet, before being replaced by trunk and branches. A secondary trunk that almost looked cut off rested in front of the main one, a flat space to rest that was about four feet wide and six feet long. Pocahontas nimbly climbed up to this seat and sat with her feet dangling over the edge.

"Come up." She requested. "It's not all that hard."

Hesitantly, the four teens looked at each other. Mickey was on his way up already, causing Pocahontas to stifle a grin. Sora walked over to the gnarled tree and touched the bark gingerly. Digging his fingers into a handhold a foot and a half above his head, he began to climb. 

When he reached close to the top, the Native woman moved and held out a hand to help him over the edge. She did the same for Roxas, Riku and Kairi as they got to the top. The platform was quite crowded, but Pocahontas shifted herself to the back edge to make room for the four teens, the mouse king, the duck and the dog. 

"My child, did you bring someone else to visit? I wasn't expecting you again until this evening when you came to meet John Smith."

The voice was sudden and seemed to come out of thin air. It reminded Kairi of the older woman who took care of her before she came to live with her foster father, long, long ago. Everyone looked around, expecting to see someone talking to them. Out of the corner of his eye, Sora caught movement, and looked quickly. His blue eyes widened.

"What is it?" Riku arched a brow at him. Sora pointed mutely at the tree trunk about two feet over their heads. Everyone else followed his shocked gaze.

The visage of an old woman had appeared in the bark of the tree. As the gazes of the young people turned to her, she fought a grin, reading the shock and amazement in their eyes. 

"Oh, Pocahontas. A fine young girl, and three strapping young men. How do you get so lucky as to meet all these people, my dear?"

Pocahontas chuckled at the reactions of Sora and his friends when the old woman's face appeared in the tree. "Grandmother Willow, meet Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Mickey, Donald and Goofy." 

Grandmother Willow's large, dark green eyes widened as well when she caught sight of Mickey. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. These old eyes aren't what they used to be." She closed her eyes and gave the impression of a bow, without actually moving her trunk at all. Mickey blinked at her.

"If you don't mind my askin', how d'you know me, Grandmother Willow?"

The tree spirit chuckled, her branches rustling with the noise. "The spirits of the worlds have their ways of sending messages to one another, Your Majesty. I was not able to attend your coronation, being bound to my tree here, but I was informed of your ascension to the throne by another being like myself."

Mickey nodded in understanding. "I didn't realize I was quite so well known." He replied, a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Grandmother Willow laughed again, softly.

"Now, I imagine you came here for a reason. It's not every day I see three new, handsome young men and a pretty young woman all at once." The tree spirit gave a wry grin as Sora flushed slightly pink at her words. Riku chuckled.

"You need to learn how to take a compliment better, Sora." He teased. Sora elbowed him. 

With a slight sigh, Pocahontas stood again. "Forgive me, but I must return to my people. John Smith and I are trying to get our tribes to talk to each other. Perhaps we can stop this war before it begins." She placed a gentle hand on Kairi's shoulder. "I will take Nakoma's canoe back to the village. You may use mine if you must. But I will ask that you do not leave here unless it is absolutely necessary. I do not want any of you to get lost or injured. Here, with Grandmother Willow, you will be safe." Nodding her farewells, she turned away, hopping down from the platform they stood on and walking down to the canoes.

As she left, Riku glanced back up at the woman in the tree, one brow arched suspiciously. "A war?" He asked. Grandmother Willow nodded sadly.

"The white men fear Pocahontas' people. They have come to spread their way of life without any care for those who have been here before. They do not honor the land as the tribes of old do, but they bring fearsome weapons much more dangerous than bows, arrows and tomahawks. They will fight to defend themselves against those they see as a threat, and Chief Powhatan will go to war to protect those he loves, and their way of life. But John Smith is respected by the other white men. If he can negotiate a truce, perhaps the white men may learn as much from us as we might from them." She explained, her brow furrowed with worry. 

Sora drew his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on them glumly. "Why is it that there's always a war going on somewhere?" He asked no one in particular. Kairi touched his shoulder in sympathy.

"It is the way of creation, child." The elderly tree spirit told him. "All life competes with its own and with others. The people of the Earth must just make enemies of each other." A clump of branches gently dropped onto Sora's head, seeming to ruffle his hair before they pulled away. "I believe there will come a time when you will all understand just how small your differences are, and will learn to ignore them."

The brunet teen smiled a little. "I hope so." 

"Now." Grandmother Willow stirred slightly, her branches rustling, almost as if shaking away the bad thoughts. "I am curious to know why you all have come here. Pocahontas comes here to talk to me, to help unravel the twisted yarn that makes up her thoughts. But rarely am I ever visited by such a large group of people at once."

"We're here to find out if there's a Key here." Kairi explained. "We've been given the task of finding the ten keys to the Light. We were hoping you could tell us if this world has one."

The old spirit of the tree was silent for some time, her dark green eyes wide as she looked them all over. "You all are Keybearers?" She inquired. "Which of you is the one I have heard so much about? The one who sealed Kingdom Hearts alongside Your Majesty?" Glancing at Mickey, she then let her gaze rove over the others with him, curious, taking in the sight of each child sitting before her.

Sora grimaced a little, flushing, when everyone turned to look at him, practically all at the same time. "That'd be me." He admitted sheepishly, pulling the Kingdom Key out of nowhere and holding it up. 

Roxas laughed. "You're famous, Sora." He teased.

The brunet teen squeezed his eyes shut. "Yeah, thanks, Roxas. I really needed you to tell me that." He replied, uncharacteristically sarcastic. Riku chuckled, shaking his head. 

"God, don't do that too often, Sora. You're starting to sound like me."

Even more colour touched the young brunet's cheeks at that. He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I suppose that's what happens when you hang out with someone all the time." He suggested. Kairi giggled, looking up at Grandmother Willow, who looked quite amused herself. 

"You all are so very young. But perhaps I am just getting old." She commented, smiling warmly. "To answer your question, yes. The Key of Earth exists on this world." When Roxas opened his mouth to speak, the tree spirit anticipated his inquiry and replied before he'd said a word. "I cannot tell you where it is, because I do not know myself. It will make itself known to you when you have found it."

Sora's expression was thoughtful. "Well, okay. That's better than nothing." He replied, cheerful. "We know that we're supposed to be here. The Earth Key is here, somewhere. Now we just have to find it."

"Ought to be interesting." Riku remarked. "Does anyone have any idea how big this key is supposed to be? Or what it looks like?" Glancing around, he saw everyone's blank looks and couldn't help but sigh. "Well, let's just hope it isn't too obscure. It'll take us forever to find it anyway."

"At least we know it's fairly close." Kairi reminded him. "We're looking for the Earth Key. What better place for it to be than near a people with strong ties to the earth?"

Goofy put a finger to his chin, thinking. "Y'know, she's got a point." He admitted, after a few long moments. "Maybe it won't be so hard to find these keys after all. We just need to find places connected to the things that the keys are."

"Good thinkin', Goofy." Mickey grinned at him. The captain of the Disney Castle Guard smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. 

Donald folded his arms, looking to be deep in thought. "So, to find the Air Key we look someplace that's really...airy?" He asked doubtfully. Roxas couldn't help but chuckle.

"You sound really sure, Donald." He teased. 

"Well, it's certainly worth a try. It might give us an idea of where we're supposed to be going." Kairi looked up at Grandmother Willow. "I suppose you don't have any other advice for us, do you, Grandmother Willow?"

The tree spirit smiled. "If there is one thing I can give you, it is advice, children. Your Majesty." She gave another slight bow. "Elders of Pocahontas' tribe use stories to pass on the lessons of life. Would you all like to hear a story?"

A mostly-excited ripple of agreement passed through the group sitting before her, and the elder spirit smiled again. No matter where they were from, children would always want to hear stories. That pleased her to no end. Stories were a way of life to the peoples of the land; it was wonderful to know the storytelling tradition had not died out on other worlds. 

"Now, this is a true story..."

* * *

6338 words. That's more like it. -heart-

I had to put Pocahontas in here. I just did. It seemed like a good place to start. I don't understand why it wasn't in Kingdom Hearts before. Time, money and game size constraints, maybe. That's okay. It's here now XD. At least in MY Kingdom Hearts universe it is. 

Now that I think about it, I might have called the world the English translation of the Powhatan name for the area. Oops. Oh well. Jamestown works for me. 

Came across some interesting facts while doing research for these chapters; did you know that Pocahontas was actually only about ten when she first met John Smith? He was...about thirty, I think o.o; And I'm fairly sure he was a redhead, not blond. With this big bushy beard, lol. Oh, right, and they never actually fell in love? Although according to Smith, the clubbing scene actually did happen. Historians speculate that if it really happened, it was a sort of welcoming ritual, and not the death sentence Smith thought it was. 

But yeah. Go look her up, if you're interested. There was a lovely brown-toned website I found with this beautiful portrait of Lady Rebecca 'Pocahontas' Rolfe in full post-Elizabethan dress. Including the white lace ruff. Told a lot about what probably happened historically. It's amazing how different it is from the Disney movie. 

Anyway, yes. Enough of my rambling. I'll let you alone now. Love-love!

Ivy J.


	10. Chapter 10

Hello, all! It's a day late, and I'm sorry...the next chapter's probably going to be late, too, seeing as it _isn't writing for me at **all **_-spazwail-

Quite a few of you seemed to be surprised when Jamestown was revealed to be Pocahontas' world. And most of you seemed to like it, which is good. I mean, I'd really hate to be writing someplace you guys didn't like...

**BIG HUGE EDIT:** **ZOMG! -heart- I completely didn't notice last night that this was posted on this fic's six-month anniversary! :D I say we must celebrate. Party! -hands out snacks-**

This is what I get for posting chapters in the middle of the night XD But that wasn't entirely my fault...-sheepish-

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: That's one of those things I really have to sit down and think about; how I'm going to fit everyone into the story. Poor things...they really only came in for the last twenty minutes of the movie XD. And it's STILL over 10 000 words long, lol. I hate to think how long it would be if I included them for the whole thing. -coughPortRoyalcough- And Sora's curiosity makes ME laugh, too. He just can't seem to help himself.

Renkin-chan: Everyone seems to love Pocahontas. I guess it was a good choice, lol. I intend to keep up the great work as long as I possibly can. -crosses fingers and knocks on the wood of her computer desk-

Rose93darkness: -grin- You'll just have to wait and see, now won't you?

Aniuwolf: You're in love with Riku? I guess that means I'm writing him well, lol. Somehow, I'm thinking that he's writing so easily for me because I absolutely adore Sora too, lol. And I thank you for the comments on the spar-scene from Ch 8...I guess I really did do it well, lol. I'll have more faith in my battle-writing abilities next time.

Kanda1331: I'm doing my best, although there are times when the characters kinda work against me XD. I'll try not to let that happen too often, seeing as I already abandoned you guys for, like, four months.

So, to keep you guys from mobbing me, here's Chapter 10! :D

* * *

It was early evening before Pocahontas returned. The stars had come out, and shadows had gathered beneath Grandmother Willow's boughs. When the Native woman approached the trunk they sat on, everyone could see she was troubled.

"Pocahontas, what's wrong?" Mickey asked, brows furrowed with worry.

She looked up at the tiny king, then at Grandmother Willow. "My father has summoned his brother chief and his warriors. They have come to fight John Smith and his men!"

"Pocahontas?"

The voice was unfamiliar to the group of Keybearers. When they looked past the copper-skinned woman, they saw a tall, fair man with short blond hair slip through Grandmother Willow's branches. He ran over to Pocahontas, light blue eyes as worried as hers. Curious, Sora hopped down from the platform and walked over. When she heard him come over, the Native woman turned and looked at him, a tiny smile on her lips. "John Smith, meet Sora. He and his friends Kairi, Riku, Roxas, Mickey, Donald and Goofy have come to help us. Perhaps they can help in making peace between our tribes."

The English soldier had smiled at the teen and his friends, but when Pocahontas spoke of them helping, his expression turned grave and he shook his head. "I don't think it'll help, Pocahontas. I've already tried talking with my men. Everything about this place and your people has scared them all witless. My...chief, Governor Ratcliffe, is planning to attack your tribe. I don't think we can stop this."

"We can't know that unless we try!" Sora protested. A slightly sad smile touched John Smith's face.

"I admire your persistence, but I don't think anything we can say now will change their minds. Once two sides want to fight, there's nothing we can do to stop them."

There was a desperate pleading look in Pocahontas' deep brown eyes. "John Smith, please. You must come with me to talk to my father. They have not begun to fight yet; there's still time to stop this!"

Still looking uncertain, John was about to speak, but a soft word from Grandmother Willow stopped him.

"Come here, children." She beckoned. Everyone gathered at the water's edge, curious. When she knew she had the full attention of her audience, the old tree spirit dipped a few branches into the water, stirring it slightly. "Look."

Pocahontas knew instantly what Grandmother Willow was trying to tell them. "The ripples." She remarked aloud, her voice hushed in awe. Looking down from the trunk that the rest of them still sat on, Roxas blinked, not understanding.

"What about them?" He asked. Grandmother Willow smiled knowingly.

"So small at first; then look how they grow!" She murmured. Her brows rose slightly as she gazed over the group before her. "But _someone_ has to start them."

The Englishman nodded at the tree spirit, conceding to her knowledge of the world, but he still looked doubtful. "They're not going to listen to us." He insisted.

"And what can _we_ do?" Ever pessimistic, Donald scowled. "We're not from this place, they'll be more likely to shoot us on sight than to let us speak!"

Grandmother Willow shook her trunk at them. "Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one." She reminded them all. With a smile, she used a couple of her branches to give Pocahontas a gentle push, causing the Native woman to stumble forward into John's arms. "Don't you see? Only when the fighting stops can you be together." Out of the corner of her eye, the tree spirit caught a glimpse of Kairi: the young redhead had her hands clasped against one cheek and a sentimental sort of smile on her face. She couldn't help but smile again.

With a sigh, the English soldier gave a wry smile. "All right." He relented, looking down on the dark-haired woman. "Let's go talk to your father."

Thrilled, Pocahontas threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. When she pulled away from him, Sora touched her shoulder gently. Beaming, she looked back at the brunet teen.

"D'you want us to-" He began, but was suddenly cut off by a loud, whooping cry. A Native man, tall and lean, his bare chest marked by two red prints, flew out of the bushes, tomahawk in hand and face twisted in a snarl. Startled by his sudden appearance, the young Keybearer jumped back, realizing in an instant that he was probably in just as much danger as John Smith was. Called by the spike of adrenalin that had shot through him, his Keyblade suddenly materialized in his hand in a streak of white light.

"Sora!"

Mickey's voice, from behind him. There were a few splashes as someone hopped down into the water below Grandmother Willow's roots and ran up. Sora only needed to see the angel wing on the Keyblade's tip to realize who had come to his aid, and he felt his lips twitch slightly.

_'Trust Riku to think I can't take care of myself.'_ The thought flitted through his head as everyone else approached, feeling that they might be needed. The Native warrior, however, seemed to have no quarrel with Sora; he was currently wrestling John Smith to the ground. Whether it was because of his youth or because he'd barely touched Pocahontas, the mysterious copper-skinned man took the young Keyblade Master as less of a threat.

Worried about John - the Englishman seemed almost overpowered by the warrior's fury - Sora moved to help him, but Pocahontas beat him to it. She circled the two men, getting around behind her fellow Native before she leapt forward, shouting in a foreign language as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled the two of them apart. He whirled on her, a furious stream of the same tongue pouring from his scowling mouth.

A sound like thunder pierced the night, startling a jerk of surprise from everyone. A gasp left the copper-skinned warrior as a hole in his back began to bleed. Looking around wildly, Kairi caught sight of an older teen with red-orange hair, dressed in simple, earth-toned clothing and holding a smoking rifle, his eyes so wide that white showed all the way around the irises.

The Native warrior reached for Pocahontas, catching her necklace and breaking the string as he collapsed into the shallow pool of water. Momentarily frozen, the young woman could do nothing but stare. When the spell over her broke, she lunged at the trembling teen with the gun, shrieking in her native tongue. John caught her before she could attack the young redhead, taking the brunt of her rage and grief.

"Thomas, get out of here!" He shouted, when distant whoops sounded in the trees. The young man - Thomas - needed no futher encouragement; he very nearly dropped his gun when he bolted. Obviously he'd never killed anyone before and was freaking out. Without turning around, John called back to the group of Keybearers. "Get out of sight, all of you!"

Numb with shock, Sora didn't protest...for once. With a few branches, Grandmother Willow tugged them all behind her trunk, out of sight. Grimly, Riku took ahold of the brunet's shoulders; he knew that Sora would need to be held back if something bad happened.

Several other Native warriors ran out of the forest. Some pounced on John Smith, dragging him away from Pocahontas and binding him tight with rope. Others knelt around the body of the dead warrior, picking him up to carry him away. Pocahontas didn't move for a moment, but soon she pulled herself to her feet, moving as if in a dream, and walked through Grandmother Willow's branches, out into the forest.

Sora had been frozen while the Native warriors were there, but as Pocahontas left, he went to go after her. Riku tightened his grip around Sora's shoulders, pulling him back. "Sora, you can't go with her." He murmured. The young Keyblade Master struggled for a few moments, reaching up as if to pry Riku's hands off his shoulders.

"But John!" He protested. "We have to help him!"

"I don't think we _can_ right now, Sora." Kairi gently touched his shoulder, blue eyes sympathetic. "I know you want to make sure nothing happens to John, but we'd be in just as much danger as he is. We need to let Pocahontas handle this for now. She won't let anything happen to John."

With a heavy, resigned sigh, Sora stopped fighting. "So I guess all we can do is wait?" He asked quietly. Knowing just how useless that made him feel, Riku gently ruffled the younger teen's hair.

"Unless we miraculously find the Earth Key somewhere nearby." He commented. "Other than that, I don't think so."

A soft chittering noise drew everyone's attention upward, to where Meeko was climbing down Grandmother Willow's side with something in his mouth. When the grey animal paused in his descent, Roxas carefully took the small metal object from him.

"Hey!" He held it up with a grin. "It's a key!" Reaching up, he gently pet Meeko's head. "Are you trying to help us, Meeko?"

Leaping off Grandmother Willow, the raccoon landed lightly on the blond's shoulders and coiled around them like a cat. He purred softly, almost curiously, in Roxas' ear, making him laugh when the animal's whiskers tickled his ear.

With a chuckle, Mickey took the key from Roxas. "Nice of you, there, Meeko, but I don't think this is the key we're lookin' for." He handed it back to the animal, who bit down on it before jumping off Roxas' shoulders and climbing back up into Grandmother Willow.

Kairi knelt down next to Goofy, who had been examining the pieces of Pocahontas' necklace that had fallen to the ground. She picked up the off-white, almond-shaped shell that had hung in the centre, clicking her tongue slightly. "It's a shame this broke." She commented, gathering the other beads. "It was so pretty."

"Aren't you the crafty person, Kairi? Maybe you can fix it." Riku suggested offhandedly. "I mean, you made that lucky charm for yourself."

The redheaded girl picked up the string the necklace had hung on, looking thoughtful. "I might." She admitted. Slipping the beads into her pocket, she climbed up to Grandmother Willow again. "Can you help me?"

Sora smiled, watching her. Kairi had something to do now, at least. Sighing out a breath, he sat down against the ancient tree, leaning back. A touch on his shoulders made him look up, curious, only to find a clump of Grandmother Willow's flexible branches draped over his shoulders. He glanced up at her with a smile.

"You okay?"

Surprised by the voice, he looked up as Riku knelt beside him. His lips twitched into a wry half-smile. "You know me, Riku. I don't like it when people fight." He admitted. "It just seems so..._pointless._ All that's going to happen is that people are going to get hurt, or die, and none of that is going to solve anything, unless one side completely wipes out the other. And even if that happens, the problem will still _be_ there." He looked up at the teen who sat next to him. "Do you understand it, Riku? Because _I_ certainly don't."

Riku shrugged. "I don't think anyone really understands why people hate. It just happens. It's an unfortunate fact of life." He replied.

Pulling his knees up against his chest, Sora slipped his arms around them. "Hate is such a...an uncomfortable sort of emotion." He murmured quietly. "If you let it, it eats you up inside, until there's nothing else left."

_'How would you know, Sora?'_ Riku wondered, watching him curiously. _'I doubt you've ever truly _hated_ anyone.'_ He raked his fingers through his hair. Sora had too good a heart for hate. It would never seethe inside him as it did in others. But despite this, he was right. Hate was a horribly uncomfortable emotion. So instead of voicing his thoughts, the silver-haired teen just nodded.

"Yeah. Hatred is uncomfortable." He whispered.

* * *

It was hours before Pocahontas returned. Sora, Roxas, and Goofy had all fallen asleep by then, and Riku was beginning to nod off as well. But sometime in the middle of the night, soft sobs and quiet whispers roused the brunet teen, who in turn woke the others with his stirrings.

The Native woman knelt on the trunk in front of Grandmother Willow, weeping quietly. Kairi sat next to her, one hand on her back, whispering and looking sympathetic.

"Pocahontas? What's wrong?" Not one to be able to sit back and watch anyone cry, Sora pulled himself to his feet, climbing up beside the copper-skinned woman and sitting on her other side. She looked up at him, dark eyes liquid with sorrow.

"They're going to kill John Smith at sunrise." She whispered. Sora's eyes widened.

"But he didn't do anything wrong!" He protested.

Pocahontas shook her head sadly. "It doesn't matter. I've been disgraced in the eyes of my father, so he refuses to hear what I say. My people cannot understand his words. Without me, there is no one to speak for him."

"Pocahontas, child, remember your dream?" Grandmother Willow asked. The Native woman shook her head vehemently.

"I was _wrong_, Grandmother Willow! I followed the wrong path!" She cried. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she buried her face in them. "Nakoma was right. I've turned my back on my own people. Now I don't know where I truly belong, Grandmother Willow. I...I feel so..._lost_."

"What dream, Pocahontas?" Mickey asked quietly. When the dark-haired woman didn't answer, Grandmother Willow stirred slightly, drawing the tiny king's attention.

"Recently, a spinning arrow has pointed Pocahontas down her path in her dreams." She explained, dark eyes soft and saddened. "Perhaps it wasn't what we thought it was."

A small, furry body crept into Pocahontas' lap, and she made a soft noise and looked down in surprise. Meeko looked up at her, a round thing in his paws. Unfolding herself, she took the small object from his grasp and examined it.

"John Smith's compass." A tiny smile touched her lips. "He _did_ say you could keep it, didn't he? Are you trying to cheer me up, Meeko?" She murmured, petting down his back with one thin hand. Suddenly, however, something caught her eye, and her smile dropped away as her eyes narrowed. She turned the compass around in her hands, staring at it.

Kairi leaned over her shoulder, blue eyes curious. "What is it, Pocahontas?" She asked.

"The spinning arrow." The Native woman whispered, staring at the compass. And indeed, there was a black metal arrow set into the compass, one that spun as the item was turned around in her hands. Her face broke out into a smile.

"Perhaps I was not lost after all."

"You mean, this is what you saw in your dream?" Sora asked, tapping the compass with a finger. She nodded, watching the arrow spin of its own accord. When it finally stopped, pointing opposite Grandmother Willow, the young copper-skinned woman turned to face the direction it pointed, only to see the sky there lit with red and gold.

"Sunrise!" She cried, pulling herself to her feet hurriedly. "We must go! Perhaps there is a chance we can still stop this!"

"We're with you." Sora grinned, hopping off the trunk. He glanced back at everyone and smiled again. "C'mon, guys! Let's go stop a war!"

Pocahontas took off running in the direction the compass had indicated, her feet flying over the ground. The rest of them followed hurriedly, spurred on by Grandmother Willow.

"Go, children! Believe in what you are doing, and no one can stop you!"

* * *

As they approached their destination, two different drum beats could be heard. One was slow, deep and pulsing, much like a heartbeat. The other was higher, a sort of 'rat-a-tat-tat' sort of noise. The trees thinned and finally fell away, revealing the battleground.

Up on the cliff to the group's left, a tall, strong Native man stood, wrapped in a garment made of animal skin and a cloak of similar material. A stiff feather stuck up from his hair, cropped short enough to stand in a strip on one side of his head, and left to grow long on the other. He held a sturdy-looking club in both hands, his dark eyes fixed on the form lying on the rocks before him.

John Smith looked mussed, his blond hair in disarray and his clothes slightly torn. His hands were bound behind his back as he lay on the stone, too restrained to be able to do anything else. Pocahontas darted that way, heading for the slope that took her up with her people, pushing past the ranks of soldiers that lined that edge of the field. Sora moved to follow her, only to feel a tug on his hood. He glanced back at Roxas, whose blue eyes were narrowed in worry.

"Sora, you can't go that way. Let Pocahontas handle her people. Let's see what we can do with John's men. They at least won't be inclined to shoot us on sight." The blond remarked.

The fair-skinned soldiers were lined up in orderly rows on the flat ground below the cliff, on the opposite side of the field from the Native warriors. Every single one of them had their muskets out and pointed at the copper-skinned warriors they faced, just as the Natives had their bows trained on the soldiers below. A rather large man in black armour, a flashy red-violet hat with a feather, and a red-lined cape stood at their head, a sword with a jewelled hilt in his hands and pointed at the man with the club, undoubtedly Pocahontas' father, Chief Powhatan. The Native chief raised the club in his hands, obviously intending to bring it down on John Smith's head.

"No!"

Belatedly, Sora realized someone else had shouted at the same time he had. A second form suddenly lay draped over John, long black hair spilling over their back. It took a second to see that Pocahontas had stepped in to take the blow.

Chief Powhatan's voice boomed out over the field, speaking in the Native tongue to his daughter. Her head lifted, and she shot back with a string of words in the same language, her voice raised in a shout. Uneasily, the English soldiers stirred, looking around at each other. Some of them even took the chance to glance over at the group at the edge of the forest, their curious eyes telling just how much they realized the teens and their companions didn't quite belong here.

Looking down at Pocahontas, Powhatan seemed to think about whatever she'd said to him for a long time. Finally, he took up the club again...and shifted his grip so he could hold it above his head, almost triumphantly. He began to speak again, obviously not realizing that no one other than his own people could understand him. When finished, he turned the club over, setting the striking end against the ground. With a word from the chief, another warrior came up and cut John Smith's bonds. As he stood shakily, Pocahontas threw herself into his arms.

Relief flooded Sora. He punched the air, celebrating the fact that they'd been able to stop this war before it even began. That, in itself, made this day an amazing one.

But that didn't last long.

"Look! They summon the black demons of Hell!" The leader of the English army cried, shaking his sword at the Heartless that had suddenly welled up from the ground. "They don't want peace! They want our gold, and our deaths, and to keep them from looking guilty, they call on their pagan gods to destroy us!"

"That's not true!" Sora shouted, the outrageous idea sparking what temper he had. "They didn't call the Heartless! The Heartless just come on their own!" _'Drawn to hearts like _yours He fumed internally. He instinctively didn't like the English leader, the man in the deep black armour. His instincts were reassured of their instant dislike when the man turned to the group of them, an arrogant sneer on his face.

"Children, no matter how imaginative they are, should keep their imaginings to themselves and leave decisions to the adults, who know much more of the world than they do." He announced, before turning away from them and pointing his sword at Powhatan again. "Take down their leader! If he is destroyed, the demon will be banished!"

"Governor Ratcliffe, sir, with all due respect, perhaps we should listen to them. They can't be much younger than I am." The timid voice came from Ratcliffe's other side. When the speaker revealed himself, Kairi gasped in surprise.

"It's you!" She cried. "You were in the forest!" Thomas' blue eyes met hers, and she could see his sorrow; he knew John had nearly sacrificed himself to save his life. "Surely, you must know that these people are not to blame for the Heartless! They are just trying to live, like you are!"

Whisperings circulated around the soldiers as they glanced between the Native peoples, their leader, and the group of Keybearers. After a few moments, several of them lowered their guns.

Ratcliffe's face went a rather unattractive shade of crimson as he tried to hold in his fury. With a snarl, he snatched a musket from a nearby soldier and pointed it at Chief Powhatan.

"I'll _show_ you I'm right!"

The shouted declaration drew John's attention from Pocahontas, and he looked up. In a split second he knew what would happen...unless someone stopped it.

"John!"

The blond Englishman crumpled to the ground, blood leaking from his side. He'd thrown himself in front of Chief Powhatan, pushing the copper-skinned man out of the way of the bullet and taking it himself. Ratcliffe went from crimson to white in the span of a second and a half, his mouth dropping open in surprise.

"He...he stepped...right into it!" He stammered, as the furious gazes of his men turned on him. "It was his fault!"

The soldiers made to pounce on their former leader, but the little black Shadow beat them to it. The Englishman began to howl, beating the thing over the head with his musket and freaking out even more when he realized it wasn't doing any good. The Heartless drew a claw back, preparing to plunge it into Ratcliffe's chest, but a hurried Blizzard spell from Donald destroyed it before it could steal the Governor's heart.

As if on cue, several more Heartless spawned out of the ground. Quickly, the five Keybearers scattered, spreading out across the battlefield to take care of as many as possible. Donald and Goofy stuck close to King Mickey, as was their duty.

As he struck and hacked at Heartless, Sora couldn't help but glance up at the cliff from time to time. Pocahontas knelt next to John, but soon she looked down at them and shouted something in her native language. Whatever it was, the brunet teen was glad for it, because the tribal warriors ran forward and began to help with the Heartless. Soon, the English soldiers ran in to join in the battle against the shadows.

_'United by a common enemy.'_ Riku thought, almost bemusedly, a satisfied grin on his face. He nodded at Thomas, who nodded back, taking aim and firing at a wolf-Heartless. The silver-haired teen turned away, firing several Dark Aura blasts at a little Native-Heartless, who had taken to riding on a second wolf-Heartless.

Suddenly, a bright light blinded everyone, emanating from the centre of the battlefield. Luckily, this had no consequence for those fighting, as the Heartless immediately fled in the face of the white-hot light. Kairi gasped, her Keyblade tugging out of her hands and floating over to the cliff face, where it hovered before the rock for a few moments. The same light traced the edges of the weapon, before shooting into the rock face. Cracking and splintering followed as everyone on the field watched in obvious surprise and amazement.

Almost as abruptly as they began, the noises and the light stopped. Kairi's Keyblade drifted back into her hands, along with a smaller key, about the length of her hand. It felt like it was made of stone, and was a dark tan with green engravings all over it.

"I think I just found our first Key." She remarked, holding it up. "Key of Earth."

"Oh, boy!" Donald squawked gleefully. Goofy laughed at the white duck, picking him up and spinning around with him. Mickey ran up to Kairi, carefully taking the Key from her hand.

"Well, what d'you know?" He grinned up at her, handing the Key back. "Good goin', Kairi. We're on our way."

Sora smiled at her, but he was rather distracted, because he suddenly glanced up at the cliff before running around to hurry up the slope. Roxas ran after him, not wanting to be left out. Hesitantly, the two boys approached Pocahontas as she knelt over John's bleeding form.

"Is he okay, Pocahontas?" The brunet asked. She looked up at him, dark eyes worried.

"We cannot treat this wound." She admitted. "Perhaps his people can." Carefully, she slid an arm around the Englishman's shoulders. "Help me, please. We need to get him down to the other white men. They know more about the weapon...so they should know more about his wound."

Nodding, Roxas lent his shoulder as a support to John as they carried him down the slope, back to his fellow soldiers. Satisfied that John was in good hands, Sora turned to look over the battlefield, a tiny smile touching his lips. This could have been a place of death, and war. But not now. Now it was a place where two colliding cultures had found common ground; the need to survive. Hopefully, it would be enough.

A hand touched his shoulder. He jerked slightly in surprise before turning to find Chief Powhatan standing there, kindness in his dark eyes. "Oh! I'm sorry." He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. The older man smiled, before murmuring something in his language. Although he couldn't understand the actual words, he thought he pretty much grasped the meaning.

_'Thank you.'_

* * *

"Please, feel welcome to visit whenever you wish."

They stood in the middle of the clearing where they all had met. John Smith had returned to England a few days before, in the same ship that was bringing Ratcliffe back to face trial. The English soldier's wound had been too serious for him to remain here in the New World, and Donald hadn't liked the idea of trying a Cure spell on such a deep puncture; there were too many things that could go wrong unless you were using more complex magic than either he, Sora, or Kairi were capable of. So John had returned to his home, where many skilled doctors could treat him.

Sora smiled at Pocahontas, Nakoma, and Powhatan, who stood opposite them. Pocahontas' best friend carried a covered basket, and Powhatan had traded the club he'd held at the battle for a thin staff with several feathers fixed to the top. Pocahontas herself had come forward to stand before them.

"I'm glad you guys are getting along better, now." Sora remarked with a grin.

Pochontas' lips twisted slightly into a smile. "I hope we can keep the peace between our peoples." She sighed, looking back at the two who stood behind her. With a tiny jerk of her head and a soft whispered word, she called Nakoma forward. The other Native woman knelt, setting the basket on the ground, and opened it.

Inside were several objects of soft leather hide, adorned with colourful feathers and beads in hues of purple and white. Pocahontas knelt as well, helping her friend unpack the gifts they had brought.

The first thing she held out was a pair of short boots lined with soft brown fur, which she gave to Kairi. The redheaded girl stared at the gift, speechless. The top of each boot was embroidered with some shiny, hard strips in blue and red, and the strip of embroidery was edged on each side by a row of white and pale purple beads. Leather strings were wrapped around each boot, to tie them up, and on each end of the strings was a blue feather and more white beads.

"Oh, my God." She whispered, eyes wide. "Pocahontas, these are beautiful."

The Native woman came forward, reaching out and gently stroking one boot. "Deer hide, lined with rabbit fur." She said simply. When she saw the uncomfortable look on Kairi's face, she laughed softly. "We do not waste, Kairi; we use all parts of the animals we kill for food. The rabbit and deer that gave their skins for these gifts also gave their meat to feed us, and their bones to make tools. And we thank their spirits for their sacrifice." Her fingers moved to the embroidery rimming the top. "Porcupine quills and _wampum_ beads." A small smile touched her lips, and she held out something in her other hand; a purple and white necklace. "To match."

"Thank you." Kairi nodded, respectfully. Suddenly, she blinked in surprise. "Oh, of course. I forgot, I'm sorry." She rummaged around in her pocket before pulling something familiar out of her pocket. "Your necklace, Pocahontas. I thought it was such a shame that it had been broken, so Grandmother Willow helped me fix it." She smiled when the Native woman took the jewellery from her and smiled fondly, draping it around her neck again.

"I thank you as well, Kairi." She took the redhead's hands for a moment or two before returning to the basket. Nakoma had worked quickly and efficiently while the other girl was distracted; there were four or five small piles on the ground by the time she turned back. The next one she picked up also had boots, but these were slightly larger and embroidered in a wider band of black, blue, and a pale yellow, and lined with a rougher black fur. With her other hand, she grabbed what looked like a belt pouch. These she handed to Sora, with another nod and murmur of thanks.

Roxas received similar gifts, although his boots were decorated in red, brown, and bright yellow. Riku, however, was given a third gift. Aside from his boots, which were decorated in black and blue-green quillwork and lined in shaggy silver fur, and the pouch, tucked inside the pouch was a soft hide sheath for his knife, which Pocahontas explained was her apology for having feared him at first. He accepted it with the tiniest of smirks and a nod.

Goofy was handed a wide, brightly coloured woven sash, and he and the others were given belt pouches similar to those the boys had gotten. Donald and Mickey, however, got beautifully decorated cloak-like garments that slipped over their heads and rested on their shoulders. Nakoma, when handing the cloaks over, had said something in the Native language in a slightly sheepish tone, which Pocahontas translated for them.

"She says that we had wished to make one of these for each of you, but we were unable to complete them in time." She explained. "Perhaps, if you return, we will be able to give them to you then."

Sora laughed. "We'll be sure to check in on you guys later, then, right, guys?" He grinned at his friends as they all gave affirmative answers with varying degrees of visible enthusiasm.

Mickey bowed slightly. "May you all live in peace, and hopefully not be bothered by the Heartless any more." He smiled. Pocahontas returned the smile.

"At least if they do return, we will have the help of the white men to drive them away."

"We hope John Smith comes back safely!" Kairi called, waving. She'd already put on her _wampum_ necklace, something Pocahontas and Nakoma noted with smiles.

Powhatan said something in the Native language as well, which Pocahontas also translated. "Our tribe sends the blessings of the Great One with you, and we will pray that you will reach the end of your journey safely." She said with a warm smile.

"I guess that means it's about time for us to go." Goofy remarked.

As the Natives watched, white lights shot down from the sky, carrying their new friends away as they waved and shouted their goodbyes. Pocahontas watched them leave before turning away.

As her people's only emissary to the white men, she had much work to do.

* * *

I was _going_ to add a bit on the Gummi Ship at the end, here, but I don't want to have the ship get too repetitive, lol. So I think I'm going to omit it every once in a while. You guys know how they get to the worlds anyway...right? :D

It might take a while for the next chapter...like I said, it's not writing all that well for me. I found the official soundtrack for the next world, so that's been helping, but it's like I'm walking in quicksand. Not good.

Anyway, look forward to the next world: Chateau Vitrearii! I'll be watching for your guesses as to what world that is, lol. Ought to be fun.

Love-love!

Ivy J.


	11. Chapter 11

I LIIIIIIVE!

So, tell me what mortal needs my protection, Great Ancestor. You just say the word, and I'm there!

-cough-Wrongmovie-cough- Watched that recently...sorry, guys -sweatdrop-

Anyway...-shifty eyes- Yes! I exist! It's been a little while, hasn't it? Blasted quicksand...

But that's okay! Because this shouldn't happen again for the next month or so...I have a lot of this next stuff prewritten. Looooots of it :D

Most of this chapter basically came out of thin air, because I refused to use the storylines for either II or III. Two and three of what, you ask? Well, you'll just have to wait and see! :D It'll make sense soon, I swear.

aniuwolfe: I try to stay true to the original storylines...with some minor alterations. I don't want to be quoting scripts word for word, unless the scriptwriting is so sensational I'm afraid to screw it up, lol. I do my best not to be a crazy copycat. But it irks me when huge pieces of plot are left out. So I try not to do that so much. I know how you feel with the 'too tired to say anything'. It's 1:50 in the morning, but when I finished this during the babysitting job I just got home from, I had to post it. I couldn't keep you guys waiting one more day! :D

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: I loved those gifts. They'll probably end up coming in handy sometime later, although exactly when is still a mystery to me...Oh well. It'll come along eventually. I did a hell of a lot of random research, trying to figure out colours and materials and stuff. I really feel like I should have a bibliography for this fic XD

rose93darkness: You know, I never really got why you used 'hard-headed' instead of...I dunno...something else XD He didn't strike me as all that hard-headed, at least not in the last chapter. But that's okay, lol. Everyone has their own perspective. :D

Renkin-chan: You know, it's been sorta difficult, what with Sora and Roxas in there, to keep them from randomly jumping into musical scenes. They haven't had too many that I've posted, but there have been little places where I've been like, "Oh, damn it, I want them to siiing!". But they can't, really. Maybe I'll save that for the blooper reel/deleted scenes too, lol. I've got a lot of stuff for that section...

blackpantherwolf: I should've been expecting that, seeing as I mentioned the Pride Lands in the first chapter, lol. They'll come along eventually. I wouldn't mention them and then _not_ have it happen, lol. I'm not _that_ mean. But I'm not telling you when. It could be next chapter...it could be the last world. I'll never teeeeeell...-shifty eyes-

Dragonfire411: Thank you for your comments. :) Hope you stay tuned :D

NaroRau: Naro, sweetie, you don't _need_ that coffee. People tend to switch to decaf in the afternoons...maybe you should try that XD

Please see the Author's Note after the chapter if anyone gets confused. I'll try to explain my position on this whole thing.

* * *

The white light melted away, as usual. They'd ended up in some sort of park, this time; muted pastel colours making it appear soft and almost dull after Jamestown's vibrance. This place was certainly not wilderness; it was fenced in by white walls, and by the look of it, a gardener came three days in four to tend to things. Over the trees could be seen a castle, tall and thin and mostly composed of towers, with a clock tower rising from the dead centre. About six feet to their left, a path of white stone snaked through the park, disappearing off around a plot of bushes. The voices of several young women floated towards them, gradually getting louder as they got nearer. Idly, Riku leaned forward, gently tapping Sora on the shoulder.

"What do you usually tell them, Sora, when you just appear somewhere you weren't two seconds ago?" He murmured. Sora glanced at him, wincing sheepishly.

"I'm usually not dropping into places that are so obviously private." He whispered back. "But one of those voices sounds a little familiar, so we might not be in too much trouble."

A few minutes later, a party of about six women rounded the bend in the path. The one in the centre wore a blush pink gown with a tight-fitting bodice and ruffled sleeves. A gold choker set with a pale pink stone accented her neck, and her light blonde hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail with a flowered hairpiece. Obviously the most observant of the half-dozen twittering girls, she was the first to gasp in surprise. She had caught sight of Riku first, and a spark of fear flowered in her soft blue eyes.

_'Uh oh.'_ Was the first thought to hit Sora when he recognized her. It had taken a second; she'd been in silver-blue the last time he'd seen her. _'Time for a little damage control_.' He stepped forward quickly, between the two of them, his hands out in what he hoped was a calming sort of gesture. "It's okay." He called. "It's not who you think it is."

"Keybearer?" Her frightened eyes flicked his way. "I...I never expected to see you here." She fidgeted nervously, although somehow he felt that she was the tiniest bit more relaxed, knowing he was there. He relaxed too, cautiously approaching her.

"We didn't know this was your world...Princess." He felt a little awkward; he couldn't remember her name! "If we had, we might have given you a bit more warning."

A tiny smile touched her lips. "Cinderella." She supplied, realizing that was what he was searching for. Again, she glanced at Riku, the amusement draining from her expression and being replaced by ware. "Keybearer..." She paused, trying to find some polite way of phrasing what she wanted to ask. "...Why is he here?"

Riku took a deep breath. _'I'll have to get used to this, I guess._' He muttered internally. There were five other Princesses of Heart out there in the worlds; he would be surprised if any one of them _didn't_ react to him like this. "I'm not Ansem, Your Highness." He met her light blue eyes with his own gaze, unsurprised when she couldn't look back for more than a few seconds.

"It's okay, Your Highness. This is my best friend Riku." Sora placed a gentle hand on the silver-haired teen's shoulder.

Roxas blinked. Curious, he leaned slightly closer to Kairi as Sora introduced the rest of them. "What's up?" He whispered. A little distracted, and looking quite sympathetic, the redheaded girl waved him off, her expression clearly telling him to save it for later.

The loud, low clang of a bell suddenly startled them all out of their skin. Turning, Cinderella looked up at the clock, which had rung to announce the hour. "One o'clock." She murmured. With a small smile, she turned back to the group. "It would be impolite to leave you out here. Please, come inside and meet my prince."

Sora glanced around to everyone else, taking their reactions into consideration before he responded. "I think we would be honored, Your Highness." He replied with a smile and a bow. The blonde princess smiled too.

"Wonderful. Please, come with me."

* * *

The inside of the castle was just as pristine as the outside, all white and sparkling, with bright carpets and tapestries on the walls. They were barely inside the walls, however, when a dark-haired man came striding up to the group of them, brown eyes alight when he saw Cinderella.

"My love, I was beginning to wonder if you had lost track of time." He teased gently, taking her into his arms. She giggled quietly, stifling the sound with one hand.

"No, my prince. I was delayed by the arrival of an old friend." She turned, gesturing to Sora and the others with a graceful sweep of her arm. "Your Highness, meet the Keybearer and his companions. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Riku, Kairi and Roxas. Friends, meet Prince Charming II, High prince of the realm."

When he realized the significance of the name, the prince bowed to the young brunet and his friends. "You are the one who defeated the witch that stole Cinderella away." He murmured. "For that, I thank you, young Keybearer."

Sora blinked, startled. "We just stopped Maleficent's plans for a little while, Your Highness." He explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "She's still out there. In fact, that's kinda why we're here."

"And modest, too. How delightfully unusual." Cinderella's prince canted his head slightly. "I would be curious to hear your story, and how we can be of service. If you would join us for tea?" He offered. When nods of assent came from everyone, Prince Charming II gave a warm smile. "Wonderful."

Despite royal protocol, Cinderella murmured something to her prince before she fell back to walk with Kairi. "You are the seventh princess, aren't you?" She asked. Kairi smiled sheepishly, flushing a soft pink.

"Yeah." She admitted. A tap on her shoulder startled her, and she turned around to find Roxas. "What is it, Roxas?" She asked, blinking.

"You're a princess?" He asked.

Kairi blinked curiously at him for a moment more, then suddenly laughed. "Oh, of course. You wouldn't know. Sorry, Roxas." She rubbed one cheek, brushing her hair behind that ear as she explained the Princesses of Heart and their significance to the Universe to the blond teen.

"So, okay. This guy, who called himself Ansem, gathered together the Seven Princesses so he could use their hearts to open the way to the darkness?" He arched a brow when Kairi nodded. "Okay. So who was this Ansem person?" He glanced at Cinderella. "And why did you think Riku was this...Ansem?"

Ahead of them, the silver-haired teen paused momentarily. Kairi glanced toward Riku and, seeing that he'd halted, shooed him forward again. He met her eyes and gave a tiny shake of his head before he continued walking, speeding up to pull even with Sora, Donald, Goofy and Mickey.

"You okay, Riku?" Mickey's soft voice broke into his thoughts. He nodded, absently, looking distant.

"Yeah, I'm okay, King Mickey. I just don't like the idea of people flinching and being frightened around me all the time. It's...uncomfortable."

Mickey chuckled softly, gently patting Riku's arm. "I understand, Riku." He replied sincerely. Riku smiled, looking down at the tiny king.

"You always do."

Looking up, he noticed everyone else had disappeared behind an ornately carved wooden door. Obviously waiting for him, Kairi had stayed outside for a moment, looking back at him.

"Do you not want him to know, Riku?" She asked softly, when he got close enough to hear her. He shook his head, letting his voice drop to just below a whisper.

"To be honest, I don't much care what Roxas thinks. I'm just worried he'll say something to tip Cinderella or her prince off...I don't want _them_ knowing about Ansem. If he really wants to know, I don't care if you tell him that I was Ansem's host...just don't tell him that Ansem's still there. At least until we've left."

The redheaded girl nodded. "Okay." She agreed. A tiny giggle left her when Riku blinked at her, obviously expecting a protest of some sort, or at least something..._more_. "Riku, it's your business. If you don't want me to explain everything, then I won't. You have your reasons, and even if you didn't, I wouldn't say anything if you didn't want me to. That's what friends are for." She winked at him before turning and entering the parlour where everyone else had gone.

Cinderella, seated next to her prince on one side of the rectangular table, called the redhead over to sit next to her. After glancing around at the available spots, Riku sat next to Mickey, who had been placed directly opposite Prince Charming. Sora, seated on the Prince's other side, canted his head at him curiously, but when he shook his head, the brunet teen left it alone.

Maids brought out trays of tiny sandwiches and tea, distributing them around the table with the various fixings. Sora smiled at the closest one in silent thanks, causing the young woman to flush all the way to the roots of her dark black hair. Roxas, beside him, grinned at the Keyblade Master, who looked quite surprised by the maid's reaction.

As the servants left, scrabbling noises and a chorus of tiny squeaks attracted Kairi's attention to her left. She glanced over, only to gasp as several mice in varying shades of brown scrambled over from the edge of the table. It took her a second to realize each one was dressed in tiny little outfits in vivid colours.

"Itsa teatime, Cinderelly? Itsa teatime?" They chorused, scurrying over to the blond princess. She giggled at them.

"Yes, it is." She took three biscuits from the tea trays and broke them up into pieces, piling the pieces on the satin tablecloth. Each mouse took two or three before scrambling off. Most of them went straight past Kairi again, but one, a thinner mouse in red, looked up at her in surprise.

"Whosa this lady, Cinderelly?" It asked curiously, before it stuffed its biscuit piece in its mouth and crept closer to the redheaded girl. Another mouse, a plump little thing in yellow and green, turned back, as if wondering what had distracted its fellow.

Cinderella giggled again, touching her lips with one hand to stifle it. "This is Kairi, Jaq." She explained.

"Cinderelly likey Kairi?"

"Yes, I do like Kairi. And her friends...would you like to meet them as well?" She gestured to the rest of the table, causing Jaq to turn around slowly. The other, plumper mouse hid behind Kairi's teacup when he saw how many people were watching the two of them.

"Jaq, Gus, meet Kairi, Riku, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, and Sora." The blonde princess introduced them all, going around the table. "Everyone, these are two of my dearest friends, Jaq and Gus."

The two mice bowed. Well, Jaq did. Gus tried to, but he leaned over too far and toppled forward. After their introductions, the two of them fled with their biscuit fragments, back down from the table and away. Mickey chuckled; he knew it could sometimes be scary, being smaller than everyone else.

Prince Charming watched them, amusement flickering in his dark brown eyes. When the tiny mice had vanished from sight, he turned to Sora. "I'm intrigued, Sora. You said that the witch Maleficent was part of the reason you are here. I am curious to know why that is. Do you believe she will come for Cinderella again?"

Sora shook his head. "I don't think so, Your Highness." He assured the dark-haired prince. "I think she realized she'd need to find some other way of taking over Kingdom Hearts when we stopped her the first time. But she's still out there, and we have a feeling she's still causing trouble. If we're going to stop her for good, there's a set of keys we need to find. Ten of them."

"And you think one of these keys is somewhere here?" Cinderella asked, blue eyes curious. Kairi nodded.

"We've already found one." She held the Earth Key up for Cinderella and Prince Charming to see. "We were wondering if either of you knew any tales about keys in your folklore, or perhaps know someone who does?"

There was silence for a little while as the two thought. "Perhaps Father might know, but other than that, I don't have the faintest idea who else would." Prince Charming admitted. "What about you, Cinderella? Have you any knowledge of someone who could help our guests?"

The blonde princess thought for a few minutes more, tapping her chin with her finger. "I think I might know someone who can help you." She admitted. "I'll call her as soon as I can. I'm sure she'll be glad to help."

"Thank you very much, Your Highnesses." Mickey smiled. "We appreciate it."

"I'll take you to see her after tea, then." Cinderella smiled back at the tiny king.

* * *

Once everyone had finished, Cinderella stood. She curtseyed to Prince Charming. "I'll be out in the garden with our guests, Your Highness."

"Of course, my love." He stood and embraced her for a moment. "I'll see you at dinner."

With a smile, the blonde princess turned to everyone else. "Please, come with me." She requested, dipping respectfully before she turned to leave. Curious, everyone followed her.

She led them back out of the castle and into the garden, choosing a secluded glade near the corner of the enclosure to stop. Sora looked around, expecting to see someone waiting for them. "Are they here yet? The person who might be able to help us?" He asked. Cinderella shook her head.

"Not yet. But I'm hoping she'll come." She replied mysteriously. Bowing her head, she fell silent, clasping her hands in front of her as if praying. For a long time, nothing happened.

A tiny sparkle drifted before Roxas' eyes. When he reached out to grab it, it flew out of his hand, wafting over to the space before Cinderella. Soon enough, more sparkles drifted into place there, outlining a shorter, plump woman. She seemed to look around, and then shake out her skirt, chasing the sparkles away. They vanished in an instant, leaving the woman behind.

"Oh, my goodness gracious. Cinderella, why have you called me, child? Do you need something?" She asked, her dark eyes on the blonde princess before her. Cinderella giggled softly.

"No, Fairy Godmother, but I was hoping you could help my friends." She turned, indicating the group behind her with a sweep of her hand. "Friends, meet my Fairy Godmother."

"Oh! It's you!" Sora cried, grinning. "Last time I saw you, you were at Merlin's house in Traverse Town!"

It took the older faerie a second to recognize him, but when she did, she lit up with a smile. "Oh, Sora, look at you! How you've grown!" She laughed, gently cupping his chin in her hands. Sora smiled.

"Yeah, it's been a little while." He admitted.

The Fairy Godmother bustled around the group of them, looking up and down each one of them in turn. She paused, however, when she got to Mickey. "Your Majesty." She curtseyed. "You grace our world with your presence."

"I'm honoured to be here, Your Excellency." He replied respectfully, dipping into a short bow.

When she'd finished taking in them all, she stepped back, pulling a long white wand out of thin air. "Let's see..." There was silence for a moment as she pointed each of them out with the wand, obviously muttering something to herself, although no sound left her lips. "What could you all possibly be here for? Is our world in danger again?" She finally asked, anxious. With a smile, Sora shook his head.

"I don't think so." He answered. "Not yet, anyway. We're hoping we can stop the darkness before it reaches the worlds again."

Kairi reached into her pocket, pulling out the Earth Key again. "We're looking for the ten keys to the Light." She explained. "Do you know if there's one here?"

The Fairy Godmother came forward and carefully took the key out of Kairi's hands. She tapped her head with her wand, the furrow between her brows obviously meaning she was thinking. "Hmm...No. There's nothing like this around here." Apologetic, she handed the Key back to Kairi. "I'm sorry, child."

Kairi glanced at Sora, who shrugged. "That's okay." He answered. "I guess that means we're only here to sightsee, then." He grinned at everyone, then looked back at the Fairy Godmother. "Thank you for your help."

"Oh, my dear, it's no trouble." She assured him. "If you need me again, just call." With a sweep of her hands, she burst into a shower of sparkles that winked out one by one.

"Well, okay. So now what do we do?" Roxas' voice piped up. Sora turned around, facing the blond with a shrug.

"I don't know. Do you guys want to hang around a little while longer? Maybe go down into the village and see what it's like?"

Kairi's eyes lit up. "I think that would be fascinating." She admitted. "To see how the people live here."

"You have the kind of interest in people that rulers need, Kairi." Mickey teased her. "No wonder you're a Princess of Heart."

Sora couldn't help but laugh. "Well, she _is_ the foster daughter of the best mayor the Islands have had in the last twenty years or something." He grinned. "I remember my-" He broke off suddenly, and the momentary silence was awkward, to say the least. "...I-I remember hearing the adults talk about it when I was little." He finished, lamely.

Unsure of what had just happened, but quite aware that Sora was suddenly uncomfortable, Roxas not-too-subtly nudged the conversation back to its origins. "So, okay. We have one vote for staying a little while longer. Does everyone else want to go down into the town and wander?"

"_I_ don't. I think our time would be better spent coming back another time." Riku spoke, voice low.

Kairi's blue eyes twinkled as she glanced his way. "Oh, come on, Riku. You're not curious? Not even the littlest bit?" She teased. The tiniest of smirks touched the older teen's lips.

"Maybe a little." He admitted after a moment. He quickly sobered again, though. "But we've got a bit of a task on our plates right now. The more quickly we can get it done, the less time Maleficent - and anyone else who might be interested in stopping us - has to plan. We can sightsee later."

There was quiet for a few moments as everyone considered that.

"Y'know, he _does_ have a point." Mickey admitted.

"Your Majesty, we'll do whatever you're doing." Donald promised.

Goofy laughed. "O'course we will, Donald."

Sora looked around, surprised when everyone looked his way. "Why's everyone looking at me?" He asked, blinking.

"Sora, you're our unofficial leader. Who else are we going to look at?" Roxas inquired idly, which, of course, just made Sora more flustered.

"Whoa, hey, when did that happen?" He demanded. "I mean, I understood it a little while I was adventuring with you guys," here he glanced at Donald and Goofy, "but we're pretty much all on even ground, now."

Kairi rolled her dark blue eyes, uncharacteristically sardonic. "Who better, Sora? You know everyone, everyone knows you. You know most of the worlds we're going to." She explained. "Most of the people on those worlds know _you_."

The brunet teen was obviously still uncomfortable with his sudden role. "I suppose you're right." He admitted. "I just...I don't like the idea of having a _leader_. We're a team. 'Leader' makes it sound like one of us is better than the others."

"Sora, no matter what, we're asking you what you think." Donald squawked impatiently. "So tell us already!"

Sora fidgeted slightly. "To be honest, listening to him, I think Riku's right." He replied. "We'll have plenty of time after we find the other nine keys to come back and explore." He glanced at Kairi and saw her looking just the slightest bit resigned. "Sorry, Kairi. I know you were looking forward to going into town. I was too. But it makes sense."

She sighed. "I know it does." The tiniest bit of a smile touched her lips. "I guess exploring can wait. We've got keys to find." She turned to Cinderella, who had been quiet, letting them work through their dilemma on their own. "I'm sorry, Cinderella, but it looks like we'll be leaving a bit earlier than expected."

The blonde princess giggled softly. "Prince Charming will understand." She assured them. "I'll explain the situation to him. You'll always be welcome back."

Sora smiled. "Thanks a lot, Your Highness."

"Please, Sora. I'm not a 'Your Highness'." She protested. "Call me Cinderella."

He grinned at that. "Well, then. Thanks for putting up with us, Cinderella. Tell Prince Charming we said goodbye."

Cinderella touched one hand to her lips to stifle her laughter. "It was a pleasure, Sora, Kairi. King Mickey, Donald and Goofy." She paused momentarily, slightly awkward, when the only one left was Riku. "I'm glad I was able to meet you as well, Riku." Dipping a slight curtsey allowed her to close her eyes before meeting the silver-haired teen's gaze.

A small smile touched Riku's features. "Thank you." He replied.

"All right, then." Mickey glanced around at them all. "I expect it's time for us to be going, then." Turning, he bowed to Cinderella. "Thank you very much, Princess Cinderella. I hope your world stays safe from the darkness."

"Thank you, King Mickey." Was her answer as she curtseyed again. "I hope you all have a safe trip."

* * *

Roxas walked into the cockpit of the Gummi Ship, just the tiniest bit nervous. It was technically his first shift on the bridge, after all. He wouldn't even be with Sora or King Mickey, who seemed to know the most about Gummi Ships and Blocks and...stuff. Kairi was going to be his bridge partner for this shift, and while he did like Kairi's company, he would have felt _slightly_ more comfortable being in the cockpit with someone more...experienced.

But that could have just been his paranoia talking.

He looked up and saw Kairi was already sitting down, looking over the controls. At the footsteps, she looked up. "Hey, Roxas." She grinned. "Looking forward to your first bridge duty?"

A nervous laugh passed the blond's lips. "Not...really?" He admitted. When Kairi laughed softly, he couldn't help but laugh with her. "I guess I'm just worried that something's going to happen that we're not going to be able to handle."

Understanding completely, Kairi patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Roxas. Why should anything happen? We've had nothing but clear routes this whole time. Trust me." She assured him. "Nothing's going to happen _just_ because it's your watch."

"To be honest, Kairi, I really, _really_ hope you're right."

"C'mon, Roxas. Sit down." She tugged him over to the chair next to hers. "If something happens, you might as well be comfortable beforehand."

At that, the two of them shared another laugh. After a moment, Roxas leaned over, trying to get a good look at the navigational logs. "So, where are we headed now?" He asked. Kairi grinned.

"Atlantica." She replied. "Did you see the look on Sora's face? He practically split his face grinning. I have a feeling he really likes this place."

Roxas smiled. "I guess so." He agreed. "It should be interesting, at least."

For a few minutes, there was quiet as the two of them watched the stars fly by the Gummi Ship's nose. The silence might not have been broken, except Roxas had a few questions that only Kairi seemed to want to answer. "Hey, Kairi?"

The redhead blinked at him. "Yeah?"

"I was wondering what happened at Chateau Vitrearii...why was Cinderella afraid of Riku? Why did she think he was that...that Ansem guy?"

Kairi sighed. "That's right. I never explained that." She replied. "I'll try to condense this as much as I can...it's a pretty long story."

* * *

Okay. Now that I don't have to be all secretive anymore...

The first time I saw the scenes in the World That Never Was in KHII, there was one thing that bugged me.

After Riku and Sora meet again, after Riku's explained the whole thing about looking like Ansem and yadda-yadda...HE NEVER MENTIONS ANSEM AGAIN. Doesn't anyone else find that just the tiniest bit odd? I mean, you've got this evil, crazy, heart-stealing being living in your heart, you think that if something caused it to be forced out, you'd be dancing in the streets, lol.

So what happened? Did he go away during the heartshower? Somehow, I don't think so. You'd think Riku would've mentioned it, even just idly, if that was what had happened.

So...does that mean he's still there?

That's my theory, lol. I hope nobody finds this too hard to believe...I mean, I don't think that's too much of a stretch. Do you?

No matter what, I still love you guys -heart-

Ivy J.


	12. Chapter 12

It was so funny. Everyone was all like, "YAY ATLANTICA! -heart-" :D

I think that might be partly the idea of the boys being shirtless, though XD. Which, granted, makes me just as enthusiastic about Atlantica as everyone else is. :D I keep trying to draw them all as merpeople, but it just doesn't seem to work somehow. -wail- I need to find a decent merperson base :D That'll do the trick.

No one had too many problems with last chapter, so I suppose that little bit of my plot passed everyone's inspections. Which is really nice. :)

Renkin-chan: Of course I put the mice in, lol. Chateau Vitrearii wouldn't be complete without the mice. And I know exactly how you feel about the Atlantica songs. -hums Swim This Way :D-

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: To be honest, you don't need as much knowledge of the movie itself as you do of the original faerie tale...and a bit of linguistics :D. The original tale, the version that Disney adapted, was told by a French writer named Charles Perrault, and so I used the French for "Castle". I haven't taken enough French to remember what "Glass" was, so I ignored that and instead pidgened "Vitrearii" from Latin...although I don't think I got the word ending right. It's supposed to basically mean "Castle of Glass". -sweatdrop-

Rose93darkness: It was mentioned back in Chapter 1. When everyone returned to the Destiny Islands after the Islands were reborn, Sora's mother was still missing. She hasn't been seen since the night the Heartless attacked. I don't know what happened to his dad...he isn't comfortable enough with me yet to tell me, I think.

Dusty Soku: Yay! New reviewer! :D I send you love and cookies, 'cause you missed out on the cookies and stuff from the first couple of chapters. Ah, what am I saying? COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! :D Because I luff you and you always brighten my day.

So, now that we're all done here, I invite you all to enjoy the shirtlessn-(cough) I mean, Atlantica! :D

* * *

"C'mon, Roxas! Atlantica's waiting!"

Sora's voice, impatient, called back into the room where they slept. The blond took one last look around, scratching his head lightly. If he were to be perfectly honest with himself, he really would have rather had more sleep. Talking with Kairi had taken their entire shift...and then some. He had no idea that so much had happened before he began to exist. Even _now_ he wasn't quite sure he understood it all.

So Riku had opened the door to darkness...and then invited that darkness into his heart. For a time, he had actually _become_ Ansem. No wonder Cinderella had freaked out at first. She'd really only ever seen the silver-haired teen as Ansem. Under the circumstances, _he_ might have been afraid.

"Rooooxaaaas!"

"I'm _coming_, Sora!" He shouted, rolling his eyes. There were sometimes when he seriously wondered if the two of them had actually been part of each other. Sora sometimes seemed so...childish.

_'Hey, come on, Roxas. Be nice. He's excited. I'm sure if you knew this world the way he does, you'd probably be just as eager to go.'_

He smiled to himself as he walked out into the cockpit. _'Probably.'_ He admitted to himself. _'I just don't think I'd be so..._vocal_...about it.'_

* * *

A fountain of bubbles indicated the arrival of the Keyblade Master and his friends in the underwater world of Atlantica. When he appeared, Sora kicked himself forward, looking around at the cove they had come out into with a soft, reminiscent smile on his face. King Triton's palace shone from the opening, gold and aqua reflecting rippling light into the ocean. Grinning, he pushed himself backward a little so that his tail floated up in front of him, allowing him to see his fins. He always liked coming to Atlantica. It was fun, being able to breathe and swim so far underwater.

Speaking of which...

With a flick of his tail, Sora spun himself around. He grinned again. "Very nice." He nodded approvingly.

Donald jetted out into the cove, followed by Goofy. The Captain of the Disney Castle guard chuckled a little, as his back fins were being held by Mickey. The mouse king, with the same half-octopus body that Donald had, obviously had not yet gotten used to moving around with six more limbs than he was used to.

"You okay there, King Mickey?" Riku called. He took ahold of the rock edge of the small cavern that branched off from the cove and pulled himself out. He had a tail similar to Sora's, only his was a dark golden brown, lighter on the underside, with faint stripes. He also still wore his white wristband.

"Uh huh. I'm fine, Riku. Just gotta get used to swimmin' like this." He chuckled a little, letting go of Goofy's back fins so that he drifted to a stop. Donald jetted past him, demonstrating how the mouse king was supposed to propel himself. It took a few minutes, but soon Mickey was swimming around like he'd been born under the sea.

Another head popped out of the cavern; Roxas. "This is really kinda awkward." He called. "Can someone help Kairi and I out?"

Sora grinned. He swam forward, taking ahold of the blond's hands and pulling him out into the sunlit cove. In turn, Roxas tugged Kairi out into the sun. The blond's tail was a dark red-brown, speckled with tiny black dots. The redheaded girl, on the other hand, had a fish tail like Ariel's, but hers was a bright fuschia colour. Her torso was still clad in the patterned halter top she had donned that morning.

"I guess you guys need swimming lessons, huh?" Sora couldn't help but tease. Kairi giggled.

"Well, can you blame us?" She countered. "We're used to feet, not fins."

With a laugh, Sora took her hands, pulling her forward. "Just kick, like this." He demonstrated, flicking his tail to propel them backwards. A startled laugh escaped her lips as he yanked her forward with his momentum.

"Don't do that, Sora!" She giggled.

He grinned at her. "What?" He asked innocently. "_This_?" He dragged her forward again, laughing. She pushed him away, kicking off on her own. When she realized she was swimming like a mermaid all on her own, she grinned.

"You did that on purpose, Sora!" She accused him. He grinned mischievously at her.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?"

Roxas' lessons were next. Somehow it was easier for him than it had been for Kairi, a fact that made Sora arch a brow at him. "Are you sure you don't remember any of my other memories?" He asked suspiciously. The blond teen shook his head.

"I don't think so." He shrugged. "Somehow, it just feels natural."

While Sora was teaching him how to swim like a merman, Riku couldn't help but notice how much easier it was to see how much the other teen's travels had built him up. He'd been scrawny as _hell_ before...he certainly wasn't now. He closed his eyes, shaking his head with a tiny smile. _Not_ something he should be thinking about right now.

"What?" Sora asked, canting his head, blue eyes curious. Riku's smile twisted into a slight smirk.

"Nothing." He replied mysteriously. "Thanks for teaching us how to swim again."

With a laugh, Sora let him go, flipping over in the water. "Well, I couldn't exactly leave you guys to flounder, could I? Speaking of Flounder..." He glanced around. "Usually Ariel or Sebastian or _someone_ would be here by now."

Goofy swam around the brunet teen. "Maybe we should go see 'em. I mean, King Triton knows us, doesn't he? He'll know where Ariel is."

"Good idea, Goofy." Mickey nodded. He turned himself around to face everyone else. "Shall we go meet the King of the Oceans?"

Kairi, Roxas and Riku all exchanged glances. The three of them then looked at Sora, who had glanced back for their reactions. Roxas shrugged. "Sounds good to me, I guess." He replied. With an eager smile, Kairi darted forward.

"C'mon, guys! Let's explore Atlantica!" She cried. Sora swam after her with a laugh.

* * *

They were led into King Triton's throne room by a dolphin steward. It dipped to the Sea King and left Sora and the others to talk with him. He didn't seem in the mood to talk, however; he stared rather listlessly at a pale pink seashell in his hands. The trident, his magical golden weapon, rested in its stand next to the throne.

"Your Majesty?" Sora called softly, not really wanting to disturb the older merman. Triton blinked his light blue eyes, glancing up at his visitors as if just realizing they were there.

"Sora?" He asked, surprised. "What on earth are you doing here? Not fighting Heartless, I hope?"

Sora chuckled. "No, Your Majesty. Haven't seen a Heartless since we landed. Let's hope it stays that way."

Triton slipped off his throne, swimming over to the brunet teen. "And who have you brought with you, this time? They certainly aren't from _my_ ocean."

"Nope." He backed up slightly, joining his group of friends again. "Meet Roxas, Kairi, Riku, and Mickey. I wanted them to meet Ariel and everyone else here."

A voice piped up from one side of the throne room. "Well, Ariel's not here, silly." A dark-haired mermaid peeked out from behind one of the pillars. She had a yellow-green tail and wore a green seashell top. Her blue eyes roved over their little party as she took them all in, interested. "She hasn't been to see us in _forever_."

"Where is she?" Roxas asked. A light flush touched the mermaid's cheeks.

"She's up on land with Prince Eric, of course." She replied, as if it were common knowledge. Another mermaid, this one with light blonde hair and a red ensemble, leaned forward to whisper in the other's ear, and they both giggled.

Riku's brows rose. Idly, he wondered if Sora noticed just how blatantly they were being checked out. '_Probably not._' He mused, a wry smirk touching his lips. The brunet teen could be pretty oblivious like that. '_Not like it matters, anyway. We're a little out of your league, ladies._'

"So, she hasn't been back to visit at all?" Donald canted his head slightly. Glancing at Sora, he shrugged his shoulders.

Sora's confusion showed on his face. "That's weird. You think she'd be back as often as she could. Doesn't she miss you guys, and her home here in Atlantica?"

"Oh, she's got Melody to take care of, now." The blonde mermaid who had come to see them said. "She doesn't have near as much time as she used to."

"Melody?" Goofy asked. Triton sighed a little, waving a dismissive hand at his daughters. He held out the seashell that he'd been looking at so that they could see it was a portrait. A chubby-cheeked toddler with big blue eyes and a head of fluffy black hair stared back at them, a bright smile on her face.

"My granddaughter, Melody."

"Ohh." Kairi cooed, her hands pressed against her heart. "She's _beautiful_."

Sora was still confused, though. "Wait. I don't understand." He asked. "We just helped Ariel and Eric get together...oh, I don't know, a couple of months ago?" He glanced at Donald for confirmation. The duck nodded back. "So how can they have a baby?"

Triton arched a brow at him.

"Obviously, something's happened to either your world or ours since you left last, Sora." He replied. "Ariel and Eric have been married for thirteen years. Today is Melody's twelfth birthday."

Sora jerked away from the Sea King in shock. "What?!" He cried. "That...that's not possible!" Glancing back at Mickey, he saw that the mouse king's expression was troubled. "King Mickey, how is that possible?! Donald and Goofy and I were just here!"

"I'm not sure, Sora." Mickey answered. "It's certainly a puzzle." He jetted slightly closer to King Triton. "So, Your Majesty, Ariel is living on land? Where?"

Sora touched Mickey's shoulder gently. "It's okay. I know where Eric lives. I can get us there." He glanced up at Triton. "Would you like us to take a message to her, Your Majesty?"

A smile softened Triton's otherwise solemn face. "I would appreciate that. Be careful, though. Ariel has chosen to keep Melody's mermaid heritage a secret."

"We'll keep that in mind, Your Majesty." Kairi dipped her head respectfully. "Thank you."

Sora smiled too, nodding. "We'll say hi to Ariel and Eric for you, okay?"

"Thank you, Sora." The Sea King turned away, swimming back to his throne. The brunet teen turned back to his friends.

"Okay, guys. I guess we're going for a swim." He grinned. "C'mon, let's go see Ariel and Eric."

* * *

"Oh, _wow_. This wasn't here before."

They had surfaced at night. The sky was clear, letting the stars and the moon shine down on the coastal realm that Eric ruled over. If they'd been able to see the town, it would have been beautiful...but the thirty-foot wall sort of got in the way. Small culverts at the base of the barrier of cream-coloured stone allowed seawater to pass beneath, but they were barred to prevent anything larger than a moderately-sized fish through.

Riku arched a brow at the wall. "I wonder what happened here." He comented wryly.

"Why would they build a wall like this?" Kairi asked. "Ariel's a mermaid. Her husband knows, right? Why would she cut herself off from the sea?"

Sora shook his head, still a little stunned by the giant wall. "I have no idea." He replied honestly. "Somehow I think it had something to do with Melody."

"Hey, remember? King Triton said that Ariel hasn't told Melody that she's half-mermaid." Roxas realized aloud. "Why would she do that?"

"A threat." Mickey answered. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "Someone in the sea is a danger to herself, Eric, or Melody. She wants to keep them away from her family...and her family away from them. Especially if they've threatened Melody."

Suddenly, a whimpering sound caused them to turn. A bright red crab drifted on the surf, muttering to itself. Sora blinked, swimming over and scooping up the crustacean in his hands. "Sebastian?" He asked. The crab's eyes popped open.

"Sora!" He cried, walking up the brunet's arm to his shoulder. "You can help me!"

Sora chuckled. "Sure, Sebastian. What's wrong? What happened?"

"I was supposed to be watching Melody. She found somet'ing while she was out here in de sea, and she must've gotten into a fight wit' her mot'er over it. She left in a rowboat and I don't know where she's gone and I really don't wanna tell her parents!" The red crab had a bit of a panic attack, sitting there in Sora's hands.

"Melody's gone?" Roxas looked over Sora's shoulder at Sebastian. "If there's something out in the sea that's a threat to her, having her wandering around alone isn't a good idea."

Kairi's blue eyes were worried. "We should tell Ariel. She must be worried sick."

Sora nodded. "Calm down, Sebastian. We'll help you out." He gently tapped the crab's head with two fingers. "We'll come with you to tell Ariel and Eric that Melody's gone."

"We can do that, right?" Riku glanced over at Donald. The duck nodded, holding up his wand.

"Anytime you're ready." He squawked.

Sora half-grinned. "Okay, then. C'mon. Let's get on land."

"Here." Sebastian hopped off Sora's hands. "I'll get you under de wall." He swam away, leading the group over to one of the culverts. "Dere." He clutched one of the bars with a claw. "Dis one is loose on de bottom. Melody uses dis way to get out."

Roxas swam forward and tugged on the bar. It came loose, and he tugged it out the rest of the way, creating a space just wide enough for one of them. Sora swam through first, followed by Riku and Kairi. Once everyone had gotten through, Roxas replaced the bar and surfaced in the pool of water on the other side of the wall.

Sora had already pulled himself out of the water and Donald had restored his legs. He stood, leaving them there, and followed Sebastian around to a staircase, where Ariel and Eric stood. Ariel's hair was all pulled up, and she was dressed in a light purple ball gown. "Melody!" She called. Sebastian whimpered, clinging to Sora's pant leg.

"Ariel?" Sora walked over, kneeling down and scooping Sebastian up as he moved. Ariel blinked at the unexpected voice and looked at him.

"Sora?" She asked, confused. "Where did you come from?" She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm distracted. My daughter, Melody...she ran off earlier...and now she's missing."

Sora nodded. "We know." He held Sebastian out. "Sebastian told us."

Eric came forward to stand next to Ariel. "How would Sebastian know?" He asked, confused.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesties." The red crab whimpered from Sora's hands. "De Sea King asked me to watch over Melody. I tried to stop her, but she left wit'out me and I don't know where she went and I know I deserve to be made into stew but I'm really, really sorry!" He scrambled over to hide behind Sora's thumb.

"Gone?!" Ariel came forward and plucked the crab off Sora's hand. "How? Where?"

"She took a boat, Sebastian said." Sora supplied. "My friends and..." He trailed off suddenly, realizing he'd left the others behind. "Oh, oops. I'm sorry, Ariel. I'll be right back. I have to go make sure my friends aren't lost." He grinned sheepishly before turning around. Luckily, they'd been able to follow the sound of his voice and were only a few steps away. Sora rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry for leaving you, guys."

Riku waved it off. Roxas chuckled a little. "It's okay, Sora. At least you're a loudmouth." He teased, as Kairi giggled. "We could hear you all the way from the culvert."

Assured that he was forgiven, Sora grinned and turned back to Ariel. "Ariel, meet my friends Riku, Roxas, Kairi, and Mickey."

Ariel giggled a little. "It's a pleasure." She replied. "If you had arrived earlier, we would have set you up in rooms in the palace, but right now, we're a little busy."

"Darling, I'll gather a search party." Eric touched her shoulder. "We'll be on the sea searching in an hour."

Nodding, Ariel gently kissed his cheek, then watched fondly as he strode away. One red eyebrow arched as she gave Sora an up-and-down glance. "You know, I never could imagine you with feet before."

Sora laughed. "I'm glad to see you got your pair, Ariel." He glanced off to where Eric had left. "Do you need any help searching?" He asked. "Maybe we can help."

"We would appreciate that." The redheaded woman admitted. "If you weren't busy doing something else?"

Glancing around, the brunet Keyblade Master took in his friends' reactions. Roxas shrugged a little. Riku took a moment to think before he nodded. From the look on Kairi's face, he was certain that she would go whether anyone else did or not. Mickey shrugged too.

"We're lookin' for keys, right?" The mouse king grinned. "What better way to find out if there's one here than by searchin' for Melody at the same time?"

With a grin of his own, Sora glanced back at Ariel. "I guess we're in, then." He volunteered. The redheaded woman giggled again.

"Wonderful. Come with me; there's someone I need to find before we go. He'll be able to get a search party in the air, too." Turning, she led them through the palace, off to tell Eric about their additional help.

* * *

Standing at the rail of Eric's ship, Sora drew in a deep breath and sighed it out, a soft smile on his face. The scent of the sea always reminded him of home.

'_How can I possibly be homesick?_' He wondered suddenly. '_All my best friends are here, and it's barely been a week! I shouldn't be homesick!'_ With a sigh, he leaned against the rail. '_It must be the ocean. It's a lot like the one back home._'

"You okay, Sora?"

The brunet teen turned around as Roxas walked over, joining him at the rail. "You seem kinda...I don't know..." He paused, unsure how to describe the emotion he'd seen on his friend's face. Sora couldn't help but chuckle.

"I miss home, a little." He admitted. "I'm not sure why, really...we haven't been gone all that long. But I guess it really doesn't need a reason." With a shrug, he looked back out at the sea. "I think, after this last adventure, I'll be happy with staying on the Islands."

Roxas laughed a little. "Gonna settle down, hmm?" He teased. Sora grinned at him.

"Maybe." Glancing back down at the water, he was suddenly distracted by a patch of the ocean that was bubbling rather ominously. "Hold on. What's that?" He wondered aloud, blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. A moment later, his ware was brushed away when the tips of the trident broke the surface. "Hey, Ariel! There's someone here who wants to talk to you!" He called. The redheaded woman approached the rail just in time to see her father rise to the side of the ship on a charmed waterspout.

"Daddy!" She called happily. Running over, she threw her arms around King Triton. He embraced her in return, gently, nodding to Prince Eric over his youngest daughter's shoulder. Eric bowed in return.

"Daddy, has there been any sign of her? Anything?" Ariel asked hopefully. Her face fell when Triton shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Ariel. No one has seen her." He replied. "But we'll find her. I have search parties scouring the ocean."

"Ariel." Eric touched his wife's shoulder. "Maybe you should go with them."

Blinking in surprise, Ariel turned around to face him. "But, Eric-" She began to protest, but the dark-haired prince touched her lips, silencing her.

"You know these waters, Ariel. And you know Melody."

Ariel bit her lip, but understood where Eric was coming from. He had to stay on land...but she didn't. "I guess you're right." She murmured.

"Ariel, it may be dangerous. We have no idea where she might have wandered off to." Triton protested.

Ariel gave a soft, wry-sounding laugh. "Daddy, that's why I have to go. Besides, it's not like I haven't been in danger before." She reminded him. "I should have realized I couldn't keep Melody from the sea. It's a part of her...and a part of me." Her blue eyes were determined as she stared up at her father. Triton sighed heavily, knowing that he couldn't talk her out of it now.

"All right." He relented. Glancing over, he saw Sora and his friends, and called them over. "Ariel is insisting she's going to come below to search with us merfolk. It would ease my mind - and Eric's, I'm sure - if at least a few of you would go with her."

"I'll go." Kairi volunteered. Sora grinned at her.

"We're not going to let you be the only one, Kairi." He teased. Turning, he looked around at the rest of them. "Shall we go searching with Ariel, guys?"

"Isn't that why we're here?" Riku arched a brow.

Mickey laughed. "Welp, y'know, he _is_ right, Sora. That's the whole reason we're on this ship in the first place."

"I guess that means we're in, then." Roxas grinned. Turning back to the King of the Seas, Sora bowed slightly.

"Yep. We'll go with her, Your Majesty."

With a smile, Ariel turned to kiss Eric and then climbed up onto the rail. A stream of magic from the trident lifted her up into the air and restored her fins. Now full mermaid again, she leapt into the air, plunging into the water.

"You gonna give us back our fins, Donald?" Mickey asked with a smile. The duck pulled his wand out of nowhere.

"Let's get in the water first, Your Majesty." He replied.

Eric whistled over another sailor, who threw a rope ladder over the side after a moment. One at a time, each of the teens, Donald, Goofy and Mickey all climbed down and dropped into the water. As they hit the ocean, the Court Wizard for Disney Castle returned their marine bodies.

"Come on." Ariel swam up and around them, obviously enjoying being a mermaid again. "Let's go." With a flick of her bright green tail, the redheaded mermaid descended into the dark waters, towards the glowing green and gold of Triton's palace.

* * *

Truthfully, I was _not_ in the mood to bring Ursula back again. And Morgana didn't really become prominent until after Melody turned 12. So there had to be some sort of time-thing. There were little stories I could have worked with, from the Princess Collection movies and stuff, but most of those involved mermaid Ariel and I couldn't think of a way to have her still be a mermaid after the events of KHII.

Atlantica always seemed to sort of be separated from the rest of the worlds anyway. So I figured if I was going to do this sort of thing anywhere, Atlantica would be the best place to do it. There will end up being a reason for it...other than "for plot-related reasons". I just...haven't quite come up with it yet. -sweatdrop-

Love, everyone!

Ivy J.


	13. Chapter 13

GASP! 50 reviews! :D I have more than fifty reviews! :D That makes me so happy, you guys have no idea. Really.

I feel obliged to admit something, too...whenever one of you guys adds me to your favourites list, or adds this story to their favourites or alert lists, or reviews, I have a couple of little sheets of paper that I mark it down on -holds up sheets- They're tucked in a picture frame that sits on my computer desk. Whenever I get discouraged, or my friends' not-so-enthusiastic comments about fanfiction get me down, all it takes is a look at these little papers to cheer me up. I can look up and go, "Dude. I don't care what people think, I have thirty-three people who think I'm really not all that bad."

At last count, anyway. Which is so thrilling to say, it just makes me feel like I'm floating. So, in return, I'd like to give a mention to each and every one of you. Cookies, cake and chips will follow.

Much love to:

NaroRau, SuperFriendlySoraFan203, REIzor Image, Inferno28, Rose93Darkness, kyuubi-kun69456, pseudonym, Chibi Tanny, Yenattirb, neko262012, Bittersweet Dream, Siavahda, calmxbeforexthexstorm, Chibi Neko Yuy, littlerockfly, DarkBlueKitsune, aniuwolfe, HorseMagic17, Renkin-chan, Maximum Poofy, Sy Druid, Sakura999, Miniri, Kanda1331, Mangiana, Sora-dear, blackpantherwolf, Lynx Larabellows, Dragonfire411, Dusty Soku, NiffStral, psalmofsummer, KazumaKyu.

Now, on to the review replies! -hands out snacks to all-

Rose93darkness: Yeah, we love our little Sora, lol. I'm updating at the sedately pace of once a weekend. It gives me time to write during the week between chapters, which is useful when you're like me and tend to get diverted by random story ideas, lol. My muse just recently went kinda crazy. But she's putting on the DCL yoke again, because I want to stay ahead if at all humanly possible. I don't want to die for a month again.

Renkin-chan: That's about right. Technically it takes place right in the middle of LMII, just after Melody's absolute disaster of a birthday ball. But it's near the beginning, so that works too, lol. And I don't think Triton would have forgotten him...you're right, Sora's hard to forget. XD

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: See, that's how I always felt about LMII too, lol. I have never liked sequels...but this one wasn't so bad. I think it was because Morgana is just so amusing XD. She tries so hard to be Ursula, or better than Ursula, but in some ways she fails epically, and in other ways she kicks Ursula's ass. XD

* * *

While swimming through her girlhood home, Ariel had a rather joyful reunion with her six sisters. It was hard to see the redheaded mermaid for a few minutes while she was hugged and squeezed by her older siblings. The two who had been in Triton's throne room, though, made a point of swimming past the boys, and once the excitement of Ariel's temporary homecoming wore off, the half-dozen mermaids flocked around the newcomers.

"Oh, Sora, we _must_ have another musical sometime soon! You'll be in it like you were last time, won't you? I heard several mermaids say that you were just _wonderful_!" Attina, a brunette with a red-orange tail and top, swam around him with a smile. Sora flushed red, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Maybe after we find Melody, if we have the time." He relented. "Right now, we're kinda busy."

"Ooh, and will your friends be in it too?" Blonde, purple-clad Andrina swam up to Riku, blue eyes curious. He blinked, arching one silver brow.

"A musical? You mean with singing?" He couldn't help but laugh, rubbing his forehead with one hand. "No, no. I don't sing, thanks."

"Oh, I'm sure you'd be good at it, given some time to practice." The black-haired one with a pink tail...Alana, her name was...winked at him.

Aquata was hanging upside down, wisps of her brown hair drifting in the currents as she looked at Roxas. "I think you'd be good, too." She sent a coy smile his way. The blond, uncomfortable around girls he didn't know at the _best_ of times, was doing his best not to light up like a stoplight the way Sora was. Absently, not meeting the gazes of the mermaids flocking around the three of them, he rubbed one cheek, glancing Ariel's way with a "Please, help us!" look in his eyes.

Ariel had been floating out of the way of the stampede with Kairi. Both girls were watching this gathering and looking quite amused. But when Roxas looked over at them, pleading with his eyes the way he was, the redheaded mermaid princess swam forward and took his arm.

"It was wonderful to see you all again, but we really have to be going. I'm sorry, I really am." She apologized, when they all began to protest. "After we find Melody, I'm going to tell her everything. Then you'll be able to come for visits whenever you want."

Kairi burst out laughing the moment all of them were out of earshot of the fawning mermaids. "You should have seen your faces!" She cried, giggling uncontrollably.

Mickey chuckled at Donald, who had been pouting at all the attention that the boys had been getting. "Donald, remember, you've got Daisy, and she thinks you're just fine." He reminded Disney Castle's Court Wizard. Donald had been determined to be in a foul mood, but at the mention of Daisy, he softened and a sort of wistful look came over his face.

"I suppose you're right, Your Majesty." He admitted. Glad for a distraction from his own discomfort, Sora laughed, nudging the white duck.

"Aww, look at Donald, turning all softie over his sweetheart." He teased. Predictably, Donald reddened under his feathers and began to protest loudly. Everyone laughed at that.

Curious, Riku tapped Sora's shoulder. "You were in a musical down here?" He asked. Rubbing the back of his head, Sora nodded.

"Yeah. Sebastian figured it would help Ariel settle down and practice if she had someone else to rehearse with. He was hoping it would distract her from the surface world." His eyes caught Ariel's, and the both of them grinned. "Obviously, it didn't work the way it was supposed to."

"Sora, I didn't know you could sing." Kairi commented. Grinning, Ariel pulled out in front of them and swam backwards so she could talk to them all.

"Oh, Sora was wonderful!" She gushed, making the brunet teen go bright red again. "I even think most of the merpeople thought he was more the star than I was!"

"I wasn't _that_ great." He murmured uncomfortably.

At that, Ariel's eyes twinkled with mirth. "'Even though we're hittin' the road our worlds are all connected!'" She sang out. Goofy looked up in surprise.

"Hey, that's the song we made up and sang before we left!" He exclaimed, grinning. The redheaded mermaid laughed brightly, but all of a sudden she stopped and turned around. A small yellow fish with blue stripes looked up at her with big wide eyes.

"Flounder!" She cried, scooping it up into a hug. It squirmed out of her grasp, causing her to blink in surprise, and swam away, yelling "Daaaaddy!"

Another fish with the same markings, only about three times the size of the little one, came swimming around a hunk of coral. "What's wrong?" He asked, sounding rather exasperated.

"Oops." Ariel sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry."

When the larger fish saw her, he lit up. "Ariel?!" He cried. It took her a second, but the moment she recognized her childhood friend she swam over and hugged him tightly. Sora blinked, swimming over.

"Wow, Flounder, look at you!" He laughed. "It's been a while!"

"Hey, Sora's back!" The yellow-and-blue fish grinned over Ariel's shoulder. "Off on another adventure?"

The brunet teen grinned. "Yeah. Right now we're helping Ariel find Melody."

Flounder sobered quickly at the mention of Ariel's daughter. "I heard what happened. Do you need any help?" He asked Ariel softly. The redheaded mermaid smiled a little.

"You know I'd love for you to come along, Flounder." She assured him. "The more eyes we have searching, the more quickly we'll find her."

Flounder chuckled softly. "Wild seahorses couldn't stop me." He promised.

"Come on. Daddy knows where all the search parties have gone...we can find out where to go so we can help." Turning, Ariel swam back towards the throne room, where Triton waited for news on his granddaughter.

* * *

Triton met them all at the door of his throne room, obviously heading back there himself. He smiled fondly when he saw Flounder. "It's nice to know that everyone is looking out for you, Ariel." He murmured, gently touching her chin. Ariel smiled.

"I just hope we can find Melody before-"

"Ariel! Your Majesty!" Suddenly alarmed, Sora swam past them into the throne room. He approached the trident's stand, running his hands along the edges. "Wasn't the trident here when we were here last?"

Ariel gasped, swimming up to the empty stand and waving her hand over the slot for the trident as if thinking that it was just invisible. "Daddy, you don't have the trident! Did you have it here?!" She asked. Triton stared at the stand, light blue eyes narrowed.

"Yes, I did." He admitted grimly. "It should have been safe here. No one can remove it from the stand except me. Or one of you girls, or your..." He trailed off. "Or your children."

"Hey, what's this?" Kairi rose to meet them. Something that shined had caught her eye near the base of the trident's stand, and now she held it up. A golden seashell pendant engraved with 'Melody'.

"Melody?" Curious, Roxas took it from Kairi's hands. "Was this hers?" He held it out to Ariel, who took it with a nod, staring at it in dismay.

"Daddy had it made for her. She found it while swimming out here in the sea...when she wasn't supposed to, I might add." She sighed. "The last time I saw it, she had it with her...but how could it have gotten here? _She_ couldn't possibly be here!"

"Unless Morgana has something to do with this." Triton's voice was suddenly very cold. "If she gets her hands on my trident-" He didn't continue, but instead swam off and began shouting at the latest reporting search party.

"Morgana?" Riku's eyes narrowed. "Who's Morgana?"

Obviously worried, Ariel bit her lip gently. "Morgana is Ursula's sister. She threatened my family...especially Melody, long ago to try and get Daddy to surrender the trident to her. That's why I've tried to keep Melody away from the sea for so long."

"Ursula had a sister?!" Donald squawked furiously.

Sora folded his arms over his chest, looking worried. "Is it possible Morgana might've done something to her already? Like, I don't know...maybe she lured Melody in somehow, and is using her?"

"You've been trying to keep Melody out of the sea, but you said she was out here swimming when she found that pendant. She must love the ocean...maybe Morgana's using that somehow." Kairi looked up at Ariel, blue eyes sympathetic when the redheaded mermaid covered her face with her hands.

"I've ruined everything. I tried to keep her safe, but all I did was make her resent me. I wish I could go back and do this all over."

Goofy's voice suddenly broke into the conversation. "Y'know, those two don't look quite right." He commented. Mickey looked up at him and blinked.

"What two d'you mean, Goofy?"

"Those two, Your Majesty." Disney Castle's Captain of the Guard pointed with one fin at two manta rays silently gliding away from the throne room. When she saw them, Ariel's eyes narrowed.

"I know those two. I think they're Morgana's pets!" She cried. "Let's follow them. They should take us back to her lair."

"C'mon, fellas. Let's go save Melody!" Mickey grinned, jetting off after Ariel.

* * *

The group of them followed the manta rays into colder, darker waters. It took a couple of hours, but as the sky began to darken towards dusk, they saw the two cloak-like creatures float into a crevice in an iceburg. Hanging back, they all watched as Morgana's pets disappeared into the dark fissure.

"Flounder, you have to go back. Swim as fast as you can back to Daddy and tell him where Morgana's lair is." She gently pushed him back the way they'd come. "We'll go in and find Morgana. Hopefully, Melody won't be with her."

"But, Ariel! I don't want to leave you here! What if something happens?!" The yellow and blue fish protested. With a bit of a chuckle, Sora gently patted Flounder's head.

"Don't worry, Flounder. We'll make sure nothing happens to Ariel. Or Melody, if she's there." He assured Flounder. Hesitantly, Flounder turned and swam off, as fast as his little fins could carry him. As he left, Ariel turned to swim into the iceburg, leading the way into Morgana's lair.

A side tunnel took them to the top of a large, water-filled chamber. Quietly, Sora drew his Keyblade, getting ready for the battle that was certain to come. Tiny noises from behind him told him that everyone else was also drawing their weapons. Voices echoed into the tunnel from the chamber beyond. One was eerily similar to Ursula's voice, but less robust. The other was the voice of a young girl. The echoing made it hard to distinguish what they were saying, but Ariel refused to sit still when the young voice reached her ears. She darted out into the cavern, crying, "Melody, no!"

Quickly, the others followed her. Like Ursula, Morgana was half a black octopus, but unlike her voluptuous sister, Triton's newest nemesis was painfully thin and seemed to be built of angles and sinew. Her skin was slightly green, and her grey-streaked hair stuck up as if she'd previously been electrocuted. Her eyes glinted maliciously when she caught sight of Ariel. The other person in the room was a young mermaid with a red-pink tail, long black hair, and Ariel's bright blue eyes. Her torso was clad in an off-white undershirt, like something that would go underneath a dress. She also held the missing trident.

All of Ariel's momentum suddenly stopped. She floated in front of the young mermaid, eyes wide and round. Melody, too, looked up at her mother.

"You're a mermaid?!"

"Oh, Ariel, how wonderful of you to come." Morgana sneered. "And look! You brought guests!" Her bemused green gaze travelled over the motley group before her; three teenage mermen, a mermaid of the same age, two half-octopi and a sea turtle. Was she supposed to be _frightened_?

A tiny purple shark came up and sat at Morgana's shoulder. "Hah! Lookit all you mershrimp. C'mon, get that thing and hit me! I could take 'em all out with a single bite!"

Morgana reached out to Melody, who was staring at her mother and looking quite betrayed. "Sweetheart, hand me my trident." She requested sweetly. Quickly, before she could even think to do so, Sora swam up between them, Keyblade out and brandished at the sorceress.

"Don't do it, Melody. She's evil; all she wants is the power." He murmured over his shoulder. Morgana laughed at him.

"Oh, Melody, child. Are you really going to listen to this boy? Someone who came here with your traitorous, decieving mother? I've given you what you've always wanted, haven't I?"

The little black-haired mermaid was still staring at Ariel. "You've been keeping this from me all this time?!" She demanded. "You must have known I would love the sea! Why did you keep me away from something that was part of me?!"

Ariel's bright blue eyes were sorrowed. "Melody, _please_ listen to me!" She begged, swimming over to Melody and gently cupping her chin. "I was trying to protect you! I never wanted to hurt you! I wish I could do it all again, and have you know from the start!"

Hurt flowered in Melody's eyes. "Well, you can't, Mom. It's too late." She whirled, trident in hand, and pushed past Sora, deftly handing it to Morgana.

"Melody, _no!_" Ariel shrieked. Closer to Morgana and Melody than the redheaded mermaid was, Sora tried to knock the magical weapon from the sorceress' hands with his Keyblade, but her grip was too tight. Trident in hand and glowing malevolently, she rose higher in the water, cackling triumphantly.

"All the power of the seven seas at _my_ command!" She howled. Several bolts of navy and white energy flew from Riku's hands, but the lightning arcing from the trident countered them quite effectively. In retaliation, Morgana seized Ariel with a tentacle, wrapping her up quite thoroughly.

"Mom!" Melody cried, darting forward. Sora grabbed her arm and yanked her back just before Morgana stabbed forward with the trident to keep them at bay.

"Your _mummy_ was only trying to protect you from _me_!" She smirked. "Little Melody's been a very naughty girl. _Stealing_ from her own _grandfather_!"

Melody went frighteningly pale. "My...my _grandfather_?" She whispered. Morgana laughed.

"King Triton, ruler of Atlantica! Commander-in-Chief of all of the oceans! Or at least he _was,_" She corrected herself, "until a certain little _thief_ came along."

Sora looked over his shoulder at the young girl, who looked completely horrified with herself. "Don't worry, Melody. We'll get it back from her." He promised, smiling reassuringly.

"Oh, will you?" He had barely a second's warning before a tentacle came flying his way, knocking his Keyblade out of his grasp and wrapping firmly around his waist. Before he could summon his weapon again, she'd pinned his arms to his sides. Dragging him close, she looked him up and down, before recognition lit in her eyes. "You're that meddlesome little Keybearer that Ursula kept talking about, aren't you?" She smirked. "Look at that. I've got the trident, _and_ I've got the Keybearer under control. Ursula would be _green_ with envy!" Turning, she was brought up short by another Keyblade at her throat. A glance around told her that she was surrounded by the Keybearer's little companions, all brandishing their weapons at her. She met Riku's cold sea-green eyes and smirked. "What will you do to me, hmm? I have your little friends all...tied up." The pun gave her cause to sneer the tiniest bit. "And the powers of the sea at my disposal. What do you think your little key will do to me?"

"It'll slit your throat quite nicely, right now." He spat. "And if you don't let them go, we'll cut them free first."

"Oh, really? I'm so _frightened_!" The trident lit up with a golden-green colour, and a pressure wave suddenly flung them all away rather violently. With Melody at his back, Riku blocked with a Dark Shield, but the force still pushed the two of them back into a shallow cavern in the ice. As soon as the energy dissipated, he darted forward again, but the power of the trident froze the water in the mouth of the cave into a sturdy wall of ice. A small hole, about fist-sized, still remained, and Morgana advanced until she could speak through it.

"By the way, Melody, child. Your time as a mermaid? It's just about up." Her lips twisted triumphantly. Another Dark Aura blast flew from Riku's fingertips, but the half-octopus sorceress closed up the hole just in time. With a muttered curse, the silver-haired teen used the other bolts of energy to hammer at the wall. The magic made only a small dent in the ice, but it was _something_, at least.

He glanced over his shoulder at Melody. She was pressed back against the wall still, looking quite distressed. "Is it too thick?" She asked, her voice tiny with shame. Never really great with kids, Riku didn't bother to sugarcoat it at all.

"I don't know if we're going to be able to get out for a while." He admitted. "Do you know how much longer you're going to be a mermaid?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't. I'm sorry." She whispered, sinking down until she sat on the icy floor. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I really didn't. I just...didn't like being an ordinary girl." Her shoulders began to shake, and tiny sobs echoed in the little cave.

Really uncomfortable with the idea of just letting her cry, but not really knowing what else he could do, Riku reached down and gently touched her shoulder for a moment before he glanced up at the wall again. Quickly, he darted forward and struck at the ice.

It might take a little while, but they needed to get out of here.

* * *

After she finished covering the mouth of the cave, Morgana turned for the surface. A sudden shock caused her to jump, and her grip on Sora slackened just the slightest. Mickey jetted up and took ahold of his shoulder, pulling him from Morgana's grasp. Pulling out his Keyblade, Sora struck at the tentacle holding Ariel, but Morgana was wise enough to snatch herself away, jetting towards the surface. As she rose, a bolt of trident magic arced back down into the depths, hitting the little purple shark.

"There you go, Undertow! Deal with these merbrats!"

When the magic hit him, Undertow howled with glee. He began to bloat, almost as if he were taking in water somehow, but it was soon obvious what Morgana had done. The shark grew to a horrifying twenty feet long, with black stripes and a medium grey underbelly. He grinned, showing all his white, pointed teeth to Roxas, Kairi, Donald and Goofy, who were now closest.

"Guys!" Sora shouted. With only a moment's hesitation, to look at the cave where Riku and Melody were now trapped, the brunet Keyblade Master swam down to help his friends out. Undertow snapped at him, but he darted out of the way, smacking the giant shark's gills with his Keyblade. Roxas followed suit, and Goofy pitched his shield at Undertow's gills, with Donald and Kairi a fair distance away casting spells.

The water suddenly shook. Distracted, everyone glanced up to see the top of the iceburg split open, Morgana reclining on a pillar of ice. She still held a trussed-up Ariel, and seemed to be enjoying herself quite thoroughly.

Undertow took the moment of distraction to lunge at Roxas, but when he hit a solid wall of energy conjured by Kairi, it stunned him silly for a few moments. When he shook himself again, a Thunder spell from Donald was all that was needed to drive him off. He darted for the surface, to help Morgana in her conquest of the seas.

With Undertow taken care of for now, Sora turned towards the iced-in cave, but Mickey was already headed that way. "You fellas head for the surface!" He called. "I'll get Riku and Melody out!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Donald and Goofy obediently made for the surface. When Sora hesitated, looking back at Mickey as he jetted away, Kairi tugged gently on his arm.

"Don't worry, Sora. Riku and Melody are going to be fine. We've got to go start taking care of Morgana!"

After another moment of looking back, Sora glanced up at her and grinned. "Let's go show that sorceress who's boss." He darted past her, up towards the surface. Kairi was right; Riku and Melody would be fine. Now they needed to go help everyone else.

* * *

Spiderweb cracks had begun to appear in the wall by now. Riku smirked, now certain that it was only a matter of time before they were free. He struck again, digging the cracks further into the ice.

Behind him, Melody suddenly gasped. He turned around and saw that she was holding her stomach as if it pained her. He was confused momentarily until bubbles of air began to escape her lips. Sickly green whirled around her little pink tail, and it suddenly split and became legs.

Riku's eyes widened. "_Shit_." He cursed under his breath. The magic that had turned Melody into a mermaid had worn off. She was just a little girl again, and little girls couldn't breathe underwater. He resumed battering the wall before him, knowing that if Ariel's daughter was going to live, she needed air fast.

"Riku?" A thin, high voice came through the cracks in the ice. A short form could be seen on the other side...a form with big, round ears.

"King Mickey!" Riku shouted. "We have to break this wall! Melody's going to drown!"

A sudden ring of red-orange energy circled the tiny king on the other side of the wall, splintering the wall further. Riku blinked. _'You know, I wouldn't have guessed that the Fire spell would work underwater.'_ He mused. "Dark Firaga!"

Black-threaded flames surrounded him, shattering a hole in the wall big enough for the two of them to escape. Quickly, the silver-haired teen put his Keyblade away, swimming over and scooping up Melody before darting for the surface. Mickey jetted alongside him.

HIs eyes narrowed when he saw the two manta rays near the surface. When they darted down his way, he saw that they were dragging Eric down into the water by their skinny black tails. Mickey jetted back down to help Eric so that Riku could get Melody back above the water.

When he broke the surface, he gently set the coughing Melody down on the nearest sturdy slab of ice before he hoisted himself out of the water. Magically, his tail morphed back into legs, allowing him to scramble up onto the ice. His jeans were slightly damp from the water, but the rest of him was dry, thanks to Donald's magic. Glancing around, he saw everyone else running over. Sora sent him a tiny smile.

"Look at you. You're Melody's knight in shining armour." He teased. Riku smirked and went to say something, but a cry from Morgana's direction drew their attention. Morgana was being yanked around by a white bird, its claws in her hair. She finally lost patience and smacked it with the trident, but not before Ariel wriggled her way out of the sorceress' grip and dove into the water to go after Eric. A few moments later, she broke the surface again, her arms around a violently coughing Eric. Roxas ran over to help the dark-haired prince up onto the ice, and Ariel squirmed up after him, settling herself down on the ice and clinging desperately to her husband.

"Fools!" Morgana shrieked. "All the creatures of the sea are in _my_ power!" Claws of ice grew from the water, forming a icy fortress around the half-octopus witch. "I'm the queen of the sea, and you will bow down before me!" As she shrieked, she shot bolts of green light down on every ocean-dweller in her sight, forcing them to bow down to her. "The end begins for all of you with fins!"

Melody looked down at her feet, then back up at Morgana. Could she get up there? If she did, what could she possibly do?

A hand reached down in front of her. She looked up, surprised, to see a grinning Sora. "We'll help out, Melody." He assured her. "Come on. Let's go show that witch what people can do."

Melody smiled a little, letting him pull her to her feet. Before they made for Morgana's tower, though, she looked up at Riku. "Are you going to come too?" She asked shyly.

He blinked at her, then glanced at Sora, who was fighting a small grin and wasn't helping matters in the least. With a tiny smirk, he shook his head a little. "I suppose I should." He agreed. "Let's go."

"We'll stay back and protect everyone here." Kairi told them with a smile. "Just be careful up there."

Sora gave her a thumbs-up. "Of course we will, Kairi." He assured her. Reaching down, he took one of Melody's hands before running off towards Morgana's tower. Carefully, they began to climb, trying to attract as little attention to themselves as possible.

Near the top, one of Morgana's tentacles suddenly swept down and hooked around Melody's neck. She screamed as the half-octopus sorceress dragged her up to hang before her, sneering triumphantly. "Trying to sneak up on me, little girl?" She taunted. "What were you going to do, hmm? Beat me with your little fists?"

Several bolts of energy slammed into Morgana's back. She dropped Melody onto the ice in surprise and pain, whirling around. Sora had driven to Wisdom form and had shot her in the back, while Riku had used a few Dark Aura bolts to distract her from the dark-haired child. Her bright green eyes narrowed in fury.

"You boys are far too annoying." She hissed, brandishing the trident at them. "I'll destroy you all before I go after Triton...something else I'll do that Ursula never could." She lunged at them, the weapon in her hand glowing with an eerie green light.

The two boys parted as Morgana came at them. Fast as lightning, she spun towards Sora, but hesitated when she felt the trident cut into something soft. Holding the weapon up in front of her, she blinked as it dripped a shockingly bright red. She turned back and sneered when she saw what had happened.

Riku knelt near Melody, his arm pressed against his waist. Underneath his arm, his black jacket suddenly glistened red in the light. A slice in the fabric traced a wound around his left side, just below his ribs. Clenching his jaw against the pain, he raised the Way to Dawn, holding it up to defend against any incoming attacks. With a malevolent smirk, Morgana advanced on him.

Another shot to her back caused her to whirl around again, blatantly realizing that Sora was still up and very much a threat. The brunet's bright blue eyes were narrowed in determination as he watched her, Keyblade out in front of him. _'Focus on _me_, Morgana. I'm the bigger danger right now.'_ He thought grimly. The tiniest part of his mind that wasn't completely fixed on the battle before him had seen the blood and was currently freaking out, but he tuned it out. He couldn't be distracted now. The faster they beat Morgana, the faster they could get help for Riku.

A hard tug suddenly pulled the trident from Morgana's grasp. Melody had leapt at the sorceress and yanked the weapon away from her. She landed at Sora's feet, the impact of the ice forcing a small noise of discomfort from her. Quickly, Sora slipped between the dark-haired child and Morgana, who was currently seething with fury.

"Grandfather!" Melody cried. "I think this belongs to you!" She tossed the trident over her shoulder, towards King Triton.

Suddenly panicked, Morgana lunged forward, shoving Melody off the tower as she tried to catch the trident. "Noo!" She shrieked, as the three-pronged weapon tumbled just outside her reach.

"Melody!" Sora shouted. He watched as the young girl tumbled through the air, helpless to stop her. Suddenly, a golden light enveloped the falling child, slowing her momentum enough for her to lightly touch down onto the ice. With an inward sight of relief, he darted around Morgana to kneel down beside Riku, gently slipping an arm around the silver-haired teen's shoulders.

Desperate, Morgana whirled on the two of them, green eyes glinting with anger. Both boys raised their Keyblades to block when she lunged at them, bracing themselves.

A bright golden lance of energy pierced the sorceress' back, shining straight through her body. Her face frozen in an expression of purest shock, she, too, tumbled off the tower, which suddenly began to shake rather alarmingly. Sora stood, carefully helping Riku to his feet. The silver-haired teen leaned against him, laughing softly.

"Why is it that every time you and I fight a battle together, this ends up happening?" He asked wryly. Despite his worry, Sora couldn't help but smile.

"Maybe it's just bad luck." He teased. Looking around, he turned serious again. "We have to get down from here before it comes crashing down around our ears."

An orb of golden light surrounded the two of them, lifting them off the collapsing tower and lowering them to the ice. Sora nodded gratefully at King Triton, who nodded back. Kairi ran over, pale with worry, and gently touched the glistening fabric of Riku's sleeveless jacket.

"Riku, what happened?! I thought you were going to be careful!" She cried. Riku chuckled slightly.

"I got swiped by the trident, Kairi. I'll be okay." He assured her, although his careless attitude was belied when he suddenly flinched, putting more pressure on the gash in his side. The redheaded girl looked like she was about to lecture him further, but a bright light distracted all three teens.

Mickey's Keyblade had begun to shine with a searing white light. It pulled from his hands, floating out over the water until it hovered where Morgana's tower had stood. The light traced the Keyblade's shape in the waves, and when the weapon returned to the tiny king it was accompanied by their second key, etched all over with blue and green waves. Grinning, he ran over to the group of them.

"We've found our key. Let's go get some help for you, Riku." He gently touched the injured teen's hand as they all gathered close. Riku smiled at the tiny king.

"You're always welcome back, all of you!" Ariel called, waving. Melody, too, waved.

"Thank you, everyone!"

The white light lanced down from the sky, carrying all of them back up to the Gummi Ship as Ariel, Eric, Melody and King Triton waved their goodbyes.

* * *

Quickly, Riku was eased down onto the bed the three boys shared. Kairi dashed into the one bathroom they had on the ship, coming out with a roll of gauze bandage. "Here!" She called, tossing it at Sora. The brunet caught it easily, unrolling a good bit before he turned to Riku.

"Now, hold still, you."

The younger Keybearer proved himself to be a quick, efficient medic. Riku wasn't sure if he should be grateful or worried; how many times had Sora had to patch _himself_ up, to be able to do it with such ease? _That_ wasn't a reassuring thought.

At least there were a couple of things proving themselves to be effective distractions. The brush of fingertips against his torso, for one. And the two of them were quite close...every couple of seconds, Riku would catch a whiff of a fresh, soapy sort of scent, which he assumed was the brunet teen's shampoo. His eyes slid closed, and his head drooped momentarily. He'd be okay...he just needed to rest...

Someone flicked his ear and he looked up, wincing. Sora's blue eyes glinted with annoyance...and concern, he could see. "I swear, Riku, if you pass out on me, I _will_ hit you." He insisted. Riku's lips twitched with a slight smirk.

"Why don't you just...cast a Cure spell?" He asked. Sora shook his head.

"This is too severe for any of our Cure Magic. The outside stuff might get healed, but inside you'd still be hurt." He explained. "That's...really not all that safe."

"Okay...So, what are we doing?"

The answer was called in from the cockpit. "We're gonna take you to Merlin, Riku. He'll fix you up." Mickey's voice drifted in through the door. "Just hang on. We'll be back at Radiant Garden soon."

* * *

I probably should have warned you all before, but it didn't seem important at the time. I, um...like to pick on characters. Quite a bit, actually. Characters I like tend to get injured/knocked out/poisoned/etc a lot. I'm just a little sadistic like that. I do my best to spread the wealth, though, so don't expect it all to be focused on one person. Riku was just...my first unlucky contestant XD. Poor guy. He didn't like writing for me for quite a while after I finally got this whole world down on paper.

And, um, as to the lack of Heartless...I know they were around in Atlantica in KHI, but they weren't in KHII, mostly because (or so it seemed to me) Ursula could do what she wanted without the help of the Heartless. In this case, I left them out because it's just one of those ways Ursula is so much cooler than Morgana, lol. Ursula was able to harness the powers of the Heartless...Morgana wasn't. It just worked out well like that. They will be around, just not in the same quantities everywhere. Some places will have a whole bunch. Some, like Atlantica and Chateau Vitrearii, won't have any. It all depends...although on what, I won't tell you. :D

So, they're on their way back to Radiant Garden now. They'll spend a little while there, and then they'll be off again. I hope this won't end up being too much of a lull...it's a couple of chapters. But they'll leave again fairly soon.

Love,

Ivy J.


	14. Chapter 14

Hello everyone! Gee, is it that time of the week already? -gasp!- Oh, I'm beginning to really love Saturdays. :D

Ended up with another new reviewer this time :D Which, of course, is always fun. -dances-

Rose93darkness: Of course he did, lol. He was there. And I think I might've gotten hate mail if I'd done that to Sora XD 'Cause everyone just loves him so much. But even if I **did** get hate mail, I'd be pleased, partly because I like being evil and partly because that would tell me my writing was good enough that I got people engaged, lol. Which is always nice.

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: Yeah, same here. Sora and singing put together just make me go -heart-, lol. And yes, it'll take some time for Riku to heal...and he'll be impatient the whole bloody time, lol. 'Cause he's just like that. Pooh will come along soon. I couldn't possibly write a Kingdom Hearts fic without the 100-Acre Wood. I just couldn't.

Dusty Soku: Everyone seems to enjoy torturing characters in some way or another, lol. Which is amusing. And it's true! It helps the story move, gives chances for character development...and cuteness, on occasion -wink-. And it can sometimes work out to plot points, although that gets iffy. All depends on how you work it XD.

Renkin-chan: Renting is a good idea, if only to laugh when you hear just how much Ariel echoes her father sometimes, lol. I followed the plot fairly closely, so if you enjoyed what's happened, you'll probably enjoy the movie. That is, if it ends up being the same minus the spiky-haired Keyblade bearer and his buddies, lol. Which it mostly does, on a technical level, but I'll leave that decision up to you :D. And as for Radiant Garden, expect more of it. A whole lot more. It's basically our base town XD. We come back to Radiant Garden a lot, lol. As for Cloud, I'm not sure when he'll show up. I'm hoping he will. But we'll see.

cam91030: I'm glad you enjoyed it, at least. That's always a good sign. :)

Arear: -heart- :) I appreciate the comments! Hope you stay tuned...we're really just getting started! :D

This fic really hasn't lived up to its T rating yet, has it? XD Well, I'm working on it. It's getting there. It's just...taking a while. XD Don't give up on me!

* * *

The door to Merlin's house flew open. The white-haired wizard looked up to see Sora and Roxas standing there, Riku supported between them with his arms over their shoulders. Just barely visible under the silver-haired teen's jacket was a bandage wrapped around his torso, stained with an alarmingly bright red. As they carried the injured Keyblade wielder inside, Merlin caught a glimpse of Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Mickey, who were holding off several Shadow and Bookmaster Heartless. The wizard sent a magical barrier out the door, pushing the Heartless away from them all and allowing them to flee inside. While Merlin had been occupied, Sora and Roxas had helped Riku sit on the wizard's bed.

Wincing, the silver-haired teen slipped out of his white vest, carefully unzipping the black sleeveless jacket he wore beneath it. He pulled it away a little, gingerly touching the bandage beneath it. As pain spiked through his torso, he stiffened and grit his teeth.

"Careful." Sora murmured, gently touching his friend's shoulder. His blue eyes shone with worry. "Let Merlin take a look at it."

Riku's laugh sounded worryingly breathless. "I don't want to know how bad it is...if it hurts when I barely even touch it." He replied. Merlin came over, nudging Roxas out of the way. The blond sat down on the stone platform in the centre of the room, watching, as Merlin carefully cut the bandage away and inspected the slice in Riku's side.

"By george, you've got yourself quite a nasty cut there, my boy. It's going to take you a few days to be back on your feet." The wizard's light blue eyes met Riku's turquoise ones, to make sure the teen had heard him and understood. Riku nodded, sucking in a sharp breath as Merlin sprayed an antiseptic of some sort over the wound from the tip of his wand.

"Great. I'm bedridden." He chuckled, then winced again. Sora gently squeezed his shoulder, drawing the injured teen's attention.

"Yes, you're bedridden." The brunet replied firmly. "I know you hate it, Riku, but you could really put yourself in danger if you don't rest until this is healed. It'd be stupid if you ended up hurting yourself more by being an idiot and pushing yourself."

Riku glanced sidelong at Sora. "Makes sense, I suppose." He admitted, begrudgingly. Sora smiled at him.

"Of course it does."

The silver-haired teen bit back another wince as Merlin finished binding his wound again in fresh bandages. "Here, my boy. Lie down, there's a lad. I'll make up a draught for you...it will help you sleep and heal."

A wan smile flitted across Riku's features as Merlin and Sora helped him lie back on the bed. "Thanks, Merlin."

"No trouble at all." And with that, the white-haired wizard disappeared in a poof of grey smoke. When the way was clear, Sora sat on the edge of the bed, soon joined by both Kairi and Mickey.

Riku chuckled softly. "I feel popular." He commented wryly. Kairi giggled quietly as Mickey and Sora exchanged glances.

"We just wanted to make sure you were okay, Riku." Mickey replied with a smile. "We hurried here so fast that none of us really had the chance to check up on you."

A twitch of the lips indicated Riku's amusement. "Well, all things considered, it could be a lot worse."

Merlin reappeared in a poof of smoke, holding a small bottle of a milky green liquid. One brow arched when he saw the three friends sitting at Riku's bedside. "I understand you all want to make sure he is all right, but for right now, I believe Riku needs his rest." He handed the bottle to the teen, who eyed it somewhat warily for a few moments. When Mickey chuckled at him, the silver-haired teen arched a brow at the mouse king, one corner of his mouth quirking slightly again. With a sigh, he uncorked the potion Merlin had made for him, tipping it back.

"Good." The white-haired wizard gave a satisfied smile as he took the bottle back. "Now, you all had better let him get some rest."

Mickey gave a soft laugh. "Welp, g'night then, Riku." He hopped off the bed. Riku grinned back.

"Thanks, King Mickey. You too." He gave a tired half-salute, spurring another chuckle from the mouse king. When Mickey had walked away, the silver-haired teen glanced up at Sora and Kairi, arching a brow at them. "Are you guys gonna leave me too?"

Sora grinned. "Not if you don't want us to." He replied.

"I, personally, think we have a right to still be worried. That was a lot of blood." Kairi murmured. "You kinda freaked us out a little."

"Mmm." With a sigh, Riku's eyes slid closed. "I'd've been worried too...if it were one...of you." His breathing evened out slowly, signalling his gradual descent into slumber. The corner of Kairi's lips twitched slightly, ruefully.

"Yes, you probably would be."

As soon as Riku was fully asleep, the smile dropped from Sora's face. A heavy sigh caused his shoulders to rise and fall as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. His deep blue eyes were focused on the floor as if trying to stare through it. With his normal carefree manner gone, he seemed to bear a great weight...perhaps one too great for a single person to hold.

The sudden change in Sora's mood drew Kairi's attention. Worry creased her brow slightly, and she reached out to touch the brunet teen's shoulder. "Are you okay, Sora?" She inquired softly.

Sora bit his lip gently, not looking up at the redheaded girl. "I feel like this is my fault." He admitted.

"Why would you think that?" Kairi blinked at him, one eyebrow arched in confusion. "You weren't the one holding the trident, Sora. Morgana was. Riku certainly doesn't blame you; why should you blame yourself?"

"I wanted you guys to come adventuring with me. I didn't stop to think that it might be even more dangerous this time around." He toyed with the silver crown pendant hanging from the chain around his neck. "If Riku hadn't been there, he wouldn't have been hurt so badly."

"Sora, that's bullshit." Roxas broke in, still sitting across from the brunet. Despite the harsh words, his tone and eyes were soft. "It's easy to blame yourself for something completely out of your control, but it's probably the stupidest thing you could ever do. It could've been much worse, couldn't it?" He reached forward and gently touched Sora's shoulder. "At least he's alive, and whole. He'll be fine in a couple of days, right? Isn't that what Merlin said?"

Sora looked up at Roxas and tried to smile; his lips trembled ever so slightly, but he managed it. "I guess so." He replied softly. "I just...I don't like the idea of you guys getting hurt because you're here."

Kairi shook her head, pulling the Earth Key from her pocket and holding it up. "Sora, we're _needed_ here. All five of us...remember? We would have come along eventually." She reminded him. "It's not like we're along for the thrills or something."

Sora sighed again. "I suppose you're right..." He relented. "But I can't help but feel bad about it, all the same."

Kairi and Roxas exchanged glances; Roxas looked almost exasperated as his azure gaze met Kairi's slightly darker blue. The redheaded girl's lips twisted ruefully. Reaching out, she gently touched Roxas' shoulder. When the blond looked at her again, she canted her head slightly towards Cid's end of the room and tugged on Roxas' sleeve. Understanding, the blond stood and followed her.

The brunet Keyblade Master was a little relieved when they left him to muse. He glanced at Riku, sleeping rather peacefully on the bed, and felt his lips curve into a small smile. Riku always looked so _different_ when he was asleep...with his features all relaxed, he looked almost angelic, soft silver hair framing his face.

A poof of smoke signalled Merlin's return again. He walked over to Sora and stood in front of the brunet. "Sora?" He asked. With a start, Sora looked up at the white-haired wizard.

"Oh, hi Merlin. Sorry. What's up?" He asked.

"I have a book I thought you might enjoy."

Just the way he said it made Sora sit up all the way, interested. "What book?" He asked, one brow arching slightly.

With another poof of smoke, Merlin summoned a book. As it came into view, Sora could see that the volume was bound in orange fabric, with a white cover. On the cover was a picture of a familiar-looking boy with spiked brown hair sitting on the ground with a golden bear in a red shirt, looking up at the stars. Above the cover, black letters were embossed, spelling out the words "Winnie-The-Pooh".

Sora lit up. "Pooh!" He cried, a grin lifting his cares away for the moment. Merlin smiled.

"Yes, my boy. I was afraid I'd misplaced it; you must understand how easy it is to lose books in this house." He waved at the piles two and three feet high of volumes of every size, subject and colour. "But I've found it again. Perhaps you would like to go visit your friend Winnie-the-Pooh? I have the distinct feeling that you need some cheering up."

"Oh, but-" The brunet glanced back at his sleeping friend. Merlin touched the teen's shoulder gently.

"He'll be all right, Sora." The white-haired wizard assured him. "He'll be asleep for a good few hours yet; I imagine you'll be back before he even knows you're gone."

Unbeknownst to them, Kairi had overheard their conversation. She came over again and stood beside Merlin. "If you want, Sora, I'll watch over him." She offered. "Then you don't need to worry." She smiled at the brunet, who half-smiled back.

"Thanks, Kairi."

Smiling to himself, Merlin sent the book over to its desk with a wave of his hand, and made it open itself to the map page. Sora went over and stroked the pages fondly, remembering the adventures he'd had with Pooh and his friends. Suddenly, he looked up, turning and glancing at Roxas. "Hey, Roxas? Do...d'you want to come with me?"

Roxas blinked at him. "Where? To see your friend?" When Sora nodded, the blond shrugged one shoulder slightly. "I suppose." He walked over and looked over Sora's shoulder at the map in the book. "So...where are we going?"

With a smile, Sora took ahold of Roxas' wrist. "Not too far." He promised. He pressed his free hand to the crease between the pages. A pale, warm green light welled up around them, causing Roxas to gasp in surprise. Sora grinned at him. "Don't worry, Roxas." He assured the blond. "It's perfectly safe."

The two boys, enveloped in green light, were magically whisked away to a timeless world untouched by darkness, where a stuffed bear born of the stories written by a father for his son lived with his many unforgettable friends.

* * *

When the green light dissipated, Roxas couldn't help but stare. The two of them now stood on the creamy pages of the book Merlin had found, surrounded by popped-up images. He watched as Sora, completely unfazed, walked towards the picture of a tree with a little door in it, surrounded by pots of every colour and size, each one marked with the label 'hunny'. A sign, painted with words in gold, hung above the door.

Gingerly, Roxas moved to follow Sora, trying to be careful. When the brunet saw just how cautiously Roxas moved over the pages, he couldn't help but laugh softly.

"Trust me, Roxas. This book has been through a lot. Your feet, right now, won't put a scratch on it, compared to what the Heartless have done to it before."

Thus reassured, Roxas hurried to catch up with Sora. "What did the Heartless do to it?" He asked. Sora's expression dimmed to a half-scowl.

"Every time they get ahold of it, they rip the pages out of it." The brunet replied. "I've had to put this whole story back together twice now. I'm hoping it doesn't happen a third time." Again, he didn't seem to show any sort of surprise or shock as their surroundings melted into a forest lit with warm yellow sunlight. "I've never understood what drives them to destroy this book every time they lay hands on it."

"That's Heartless for you." Roxas rolled his eyes. "All instinct. They see something that has any sort of heart to it whatsoever, and they attack it with everything in them."

Sora chuckled. "Not like Nobodies, right?" He teased, nudging Roxas' ribs. "Nobodies are better, 'cause they can _plan_."

"Damn right, they are. I should know." The blond chuckled as Sora laughed with him. "Although Somebodies will always be the best, because they can plan, _and_ fall back on instinct, _and_ feel emotion. Which can be quite confusing at times."

Gently patting Roxas on the shoulder, Sora grinned at him. "You'll get used to it. Trust me."

The two boys rounded the bend in the forest path, the real version of the house in the picture coming into view. From here, Roxas could see that the sign above the door read 'Mr. Sanders', and that there was a smaller sign that hung below a large iron bell positioned in the upper left corner of the doorframe. A log rested on the forest floor a few feet in front of the door.

Sora, eager, ran up to the door of the house and knocked. There was a moment of silence as Roxas caught up, before a muffled voice came through.

"Oh bother. A guest. Perhaps they can help me. Oh, Guest! Please, do come in!"

Glancing at Roxas, Sora couldn't help but smile. He would've bet anything he owned, at that moment, that he knew _exactly_ what sort of trouble Pooh was in right then. Opening the door slowly, he ducked a little and walked in, just barely managing to hold back a laugh when he saw just how right he'd been.

Winnie-the-Pooh, also known as Pooh to his friends, sat in the middle of his living room, his head very firmly lodged inside a dark blue honey pot. "Please help, Guest! It's very, very dark in here." He called. Sora shook his head.

"He does this all the time." He told Roxas, who arched a brow at the golden bear. The brunet walked over and knelt, gently taking ahold of the edges of the honey pot and tugging it off Pooh's head. It came free with a sort of popping noise, and Pooh blinked in the sudden light.

"Oh, why thank you, Guest. I just love my hunny." The golden bear chuckled softly as he cleaned the honey off his face with a paw, then began to lick it off his paw. Sora laughed, gently patting Pooh on the head between his ears.

"Trust me, Pooh. I know. Have you been getting enough of it lately to keep your tummy from rumbling?" He asked, a twinkle in his blue eyes. Pooh looked up at him and smiled.

"Why, hello, Sora. I wasn't expecting my guest to be you."

Sora blinked. "Why not?" He asked. "Didn't I tell you I'd come back to visit?" The brunet gently poked the golden bear's tummy. With a chuckle, Pooh gently covered the spot where he'd been poked with both paws.

"You did, didn't you?" Pooh replied, looking up at Sora, who grinned down at him. He turned slightly towards the door, where Roxas stood still, looking somewhat awkward. "Hello, Guest. Might you be a friend of Sora's?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry, Roxas." Sora turned too, motioning the blond over to them with a wave of his hand. Roxas came over and sat down on the floor with them. With a grin, Sora slung an arm around the blond's shoulders. "Pooh, this is my friend Roxas. Roxas, meet Winnie-the-Pooh. Pooh, or Pooh Bear, for short."

Roxas gave a bit of a lopsided smile. "Hello there, Pooh. It's nice to meet you."

"It's very nice to meet you too, Roxas." The bear's slight accent made him enunciate Roxas' name to a greater extent than the rest of his speech. He held out a paw, taking ahold of Roxas' hand when it was offered and shaking it.

"Hey, Pooh? D'you want to help me show Roxas around the Hundred-Acre Wood?" Sora asked. "I figure he should meet everyone, since it's his first time here."

"That sounds like a very good idea to me, Sora." Pooh pulled himself to his feet, but as he did so, he heard a ripping noise. "Oh, stuff and fluff." He huffed. Turning his head, he could just barely see that a rip about three inches long had opened in his back. "I've ripped again. Oh, bother."

Sora winced. "_That_ doesn't look good." He reached out, stopping the bear as he made to spin around again. "D'you want me to fix it?"

"That's very kind of you, Sora. Thank you. Kanga usually does it for me, but she's not here right now." Pooh stopped and stood still. Hesitantly, Sora took the torn ends of thread and tugged gingerly, hoping that he wouldn't hurt the golden bear. When Pooh chuckled, he grinned a little. The hole closed itself as Sora tugged, and to secure it, he knotted the threads together.

"There you go, Pooh." He patted the stuffed bear on the back. "All set."

Pooh smiled at him. "Thank you very much, Sora." He replied. "Now, we were going to introduce Roxas to my other friends, weren't we, Roxas?"

The blond teen grinned at Pooh. "Yes, we were."

"Wonderful. Come, Roxas. We'll go see Piglet first." The golden bear reached out and took ahold of Roxas' hand, leading him to the door. As they walked, Sora smiled softly. He was glad he'd brought Roxas here...it was a great, peaceful place to be. He liked being able to share it with someone.

Now, if only he could get Riku here.

* * *

They walked down the forest path until they came to a tall, strong beech tree, about four feet across at the base. Letting go of Roxas' hand, Pooh wandered over to the little tiny door set into the wood, knocking on it. "Hello, Piglet!" He called.

There was silence for some time as they waited for an answer from Piglet. After a few minutes, Sora curiously walked around the tree, kneeling down and peering into one of the windows. "It doesn't look like Piglet's home, Pooh." He leaned over, watching as Pooh plopped down on Piglet's front stoop and began to tap his head thoughtfully.

"Think, think, think." The little golden bear murmured to himself.

Roxas was just about to suggest that they try another house when he heard a tiny, stuttering little voice, and the pitter-patter of hurried footsteps. Turning, he looked down the path, watching as a pink animal only about a foot high ran down the path. "Pooh! Pooh! Oh, h-h-help!" He cried. Completely oblivious as to where he was going, he tripped over Roxas' shoe and went tumbling. Intrigued by the little pink pig, Roxas knelt, picking him up.

"Oh, d-d-d-dear!" Piglet squeaked. "Pooh! H-h-h-help me! I th-think a jagular's got m-m-me!" He struggled in Roxas' grip, trembling in fright. Roxas blinked, then winced, putting the little animal down on his feet again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He smiled. "And I'm not a jagular, whatever that is."

Grinning, Sora walked over on his knees, grinding soil into the fabric of his pants. "It's okay, Piglet. This is Roxas, a friend of mine." Carefully, he scooped up the little pink pig, holding him up at eye level. "You remember me, right?"

"Oh, S-s-sora!" Piglet cowered behind the brunet teen's hand, watching Roxas warily. "Th-th-then he r-r-really isn't a j-jagular?" When Sora chuckled and shook his head, Piglet flopped down to sit on his hands, sighing in relief.

"What's all the hurry about, Piglet?" Pooh asked. Piglet blinked at him, his earlier haste momentarily forgotten, but after a second he jumped to his feet again.

"Oh, yes! Oh, d-d-dear! Sora, you and your friend and Pooh m-m-must help! Tigger's got himself s-s-stuck up a tree!"

Sora blinked. "How'd he do _that_?" He inquired. Piglet turned to look at him, his little black eyes wide.

"Roo said that they b-bounced up there, but Tigger says he can't bounce back d-down!" The tiny animal exclaimed. "I came to find Pooh, so he could help, but I'm g-glad I found you too, Sora, because you're very very smart and you'll be able to think of something, w-w-won't you?"

With a grin, Sora exchanged glances with Roxas. "I'm sure between me, and Pooh, and Roxas - who is also very very smart, I'll have you know - we'll think of something, Piglet." He set the tiny pink animal down on the ground again. "Can you take us to Tigger?"

"Y-y-yes, I can, Sora. Come this way!" He rushed off, his tiny little pink feet making soft thumping noises as they slapped the ground. Quickly, Sora pulled himself to his feet.

"C'mon, guys. Let's go help Tigger!" Picking up Pooh and swinging the little golden bear onto his shoulders, the brunet teen hurried down the path after Piglet. Roxas followed, easily keeping pace with the other teen. After all, they were physically of the same build and height.

As they ran, a curious sound made itself heard. A loud, wailing sort of a moan, echoing through the trees. At first it didn't seem to have a beginning or end, but as they got closer to the source, it began to sound more like a single word, being repeated over and over in a wail.

"Hallooooooo! Halloooooooo!"

The trees suddenly thinned, revealing the scene Piglet had been leading them to. An orange and black thing clung to the trunk of a tall, thin tree, right near the top. As they watched, it let loose another shouted "Hallooooooo!". Something smaller sat on a branch a few feet below the bellowing animal. Sora waved as they approached.

"It's okay, Tigger! We'll help you out!"

The cries stopped momentarily as the thing in the tree - Tigger, obviously - looked down. "H-h-h-help m-m-me, S-s-s-sora!" He wailed, a hint of a lisp in his speech.

"Hi, Sora!" The smaller figure in the tree waved, obviously not near as frightened as Tigger. "Isn't this amazing? Tigger bounced us all the way up here!"

"Oh, Roo! Do be careful, dear! I don't want you to fall!" A kangaroo bounced anxiously beneath the tree, looking up at her son. The three of them slowed to a stop at the base of the tree, looking up at the two in the tree.

"Don't worry, Kanga. We'll make sure he doesn't get hurt." Sora grinned. Kanga hopped over, touching his arm.

"Thank you, Sora. I'm a little less worried, now that you're here."

"Hmph." A pale yellow rabbit folded its arms in front of its chest. "It serves Tigger right, after all. He's far too bouncy!" He glared up at Tigger, who 'Hallooooo'ed again.

Sora had just put Pooh down on the ground again, so the golden bear walked over to Rabbit. "I might be mistaken, Rabbit, but I think he knows that now." He suggested.

"Oh, p-p-p-please! S-s-sora, if you h-help me, I'll n-n-never bounce again!"

Sora blinked, looking up at the petrified Tigger. "Tigger, you don't need to-" He began, but was cut off by Rabbit.

"I heard that, Tigger!"

With a sigh, the brunet teen grabbed a branch of the tree, pulling himself up onto it. As he managed to sit on the tree limb, he looked down at everyone else. "I'll grab him. Roxas, if something happens, and either one of them falls, d'you think you can catch them?"

The blond looked rather hesitant until Sora tacked on, "They're stuffed, Roxas. Toys. It'll be like getting hit by a pillow." When that was made clear, he nodded.

"Sure, I think I can do that."

With that settled, the brunet teen began to climb up the tree. "Tigger, could you maybe stop howling?" He called. "I'm on my way up, okay? I'll get you down!"

"H-h-h-hurry, S-sora!" Tigger wailed. Roo giggled at his friend's fright, obviously quite secure in his balance on his little perch.

It took Sora a good twenty minutes to get anywhere near Tigger and Roo. With one hand on a nearby branch, the brunet teen turned his back to the little kangaroo. "C'mon, Roo. Hop into my hood. I'll carry you down like that."

"Okay, Sora!" He chirped. Once he'd settled himself, he wrapped his tiny little paws around the Keyblade Master's neck. Sora laughed a little; it _tickled_.

Looking up, he saw Tigger, quite securely wrapped around the trunk of the tree. "Hey, Tigger. Do you think you can ease yourself down to me? I don't think I can get much closer to you than this." He called. Tigger gulped and looked down, whimpering as he stretched out one foot. Gingerly, he lowered himself down onto the next branch. And the next one.

Finally, he was close enough for Sora to grab ahold of his tail. "C'mon, you. Let go. I've got you, you're not going to fall."

With a last, tiny whimper, the stuffed tiger let himself drop. He fell a foot or two before he stopped, and blinked curiously, looking up. Sora grinned at him. "See. I told you I wouldn't let you fall."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Sora!" Tigger pulled himself up and grabbed ahold of the brunet teen's arm, using that to pull close enough to hug him. With a laugh, Sora used his freed hand to take ahold of another branch to steady himself.

"You're welcome, Tigger. Now hang on. I'm gonna get us down."

It was a slightly more involved process, getting the three of them down. But with some careful climbing, he managed it, finally dropping back to the ground. Tigger dropped from where he hung around the brunet's neck and kissed the ground. Roo, cheerful as ever, hopped down from Sora's hood and over to Kanga, who scooped him up.

"I'm all right, Mama." The little joey bounced up and down a little in his mother's arms. Kanga held him close.

"Oh, thank you, Sora!" She cried.

Sora grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "No problem, Kanga." Kneeling, he touched the top of Tigger's head. "You happy to be back on solid ground, Tigger?" He asked, cheerful. Tigger leapt to his feet.

"Oh, yes! Thank you, Sora!" He hugged the brunet Keyblade Wielder enthusiastically. "I'm so happy I feel like bouncing again!"

"Ah ah ah!" Rabbit shook a finger at him. "You promised, Tigger! You said you wouldn't bounce again if Sora got you down!"

"Oh." Tigger slumped a little. "That's right." He looked so downcast that Roxas knelt down and gently patted his shoulder.

"I'm sure you can find something else to do." He suggested softly.

The stuffed tiger looked up at him, black eyes sad. '"But bouncin's what Tiggers do best!"

"Oh." Wincing, Roxas glanced at Sora, who sent him a sheepish "Hey, you tried." look. The brunet teen knelt too, gently playing with Rabbit's ears.

"Does he have to stop bouncing forever, Rabbit?" He asked quietly. Rabbit folded his arms stubbornly.

"That's what he promised."

Roo bounced after Tigger, who was walking away dejectedly. "Tigger, wait!" He called, but the stuffed tiger didn't hear him. He looked up at Rabbit with sad little black eyes. "Rabbit, I liked bouncy Tigger better."

Rabbit, adamant up until the moment the little joey looked up at him like that, softened just the slightest. He glanced up at Sora, who was looking back at him a little sympathetically. "C'mon, Rabbit. We know you liked Tigger cheerful, the way he usually is."

With a sigh, the stuffed yellow rabbit unfolded his arms and sighed. "Oh, all right." He relented. "I guess you can bounce again, Tigger."

In a flash, Rabbit was on his back, with a grinning Tigger sitting on his stomach. "Oh, thank you, long-ears!" He hugged the exasperated bunny, who picked himself up with a sigh when Tigger bounced away. He looked up at Roxas with a big, silly grin.

"Say, I don't think I've bounced him yet, have I?" He glanced at Sora, who shook his head, grinning. Roxas blinked at the brunet teen.

"What d'you mean by-" He tried to say, but he was cut off when Tigger bounced into his chest, knocking him back on the ground. He let out a yelp, curling up slightly so he wouldn't hit his head on the ground.

"Hello, I'm Tigger! Tee-Eye-Double-Guh-Err! That spells Tigger!" The stuffed tiger pointed at himself, grinning rather proudly.

Roxas couldn't help but laugh. "Hi, Tigger. I'm Roxas." He held out a hand, which Tigger shook rather vigorously as he stepped backwards off the blond, letting him sit up.

"Hello there, Roxy-boy! Welcome to the Hundred-Acre Wood! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Tigger bounced away, letting Roxas stand up and blink curiously.

"Roxy-boy?" He asked Sora, one golden brow arched.

Sora bit back a laugh. "He gives everyone nicknames." He explained. "Except for me. I guess he just can't think of one for me. My name's short enough."

Kanga bounced over, Roo in her pouch. "Hello there, Roxas. I'm Kanga, and this is my son Roo." She held out a hand to shake. Roo popped out of the pouch, grinning.

"Hello there, Roxas! Are you a friend of Sora's? You're as big as he is!"

Roxas chuckled. "Hi." He shook hands with the stuffed kangaroo and her son. "Yeah, I'm a friend of Sora's. He thought I should come see the Hundred-Acre Wood with him, because he really likes this place."

"Well, why not? The Hundred-Acre Wood is the bestest place in the whole wide world!" Roo bounced out of Kanga's pouch, hopping around in front of her. Kanga chuckled softly, scooping him up into her arms.

"Yes, dear." She patted him gently on the head. "Now it's time for you to come home and take a nap. You must be exhausted after all that excitement."

"Aww, Mama, I'm not _tired_." He protested, but Kanga was already bouncing away, off towards their little house. "Bye, Roxas! Bye Sora!" He called over his mother's shoulder. With a laugh, Roxas waved back.

"Bye, Roo."

Turning around, the blond teen was met with Rabbit, who extended a paw politely. "How do you do?" He greeted. "I hope Tigger didn't hurt you. He really is very irresponsible with his bouncing."

Roxas chuckled softly. "No, I'm okay, thanks." He shook Rabbit's paw too. "I guess he's just like that."

"He's _always_ like that." Rabbit sniffed. "I just hope he stays away from my garden!"

"How's that garden of yours doing anyway, Rabbit?" Sora asked. With a broad smile, the stuffed bunny looked up at Sora.

"Oh, my rutabegas are doing splendid. Just splendid!" He boasted. "I harvested most of my carrots just yesterday. If you'd come, I would've asked you to help."

Sora chuckled. "We'll help harvest next time, then." He patted Rabbit in between his ears. When he walked away, Roxas glanced over at Sora.

"You know, Merlin was right. You needed cheering up. I guess this was the best place to do that."

A soft smile touched Sora's face. "I love this place." He admitted. "I always have, ever since the first time I put one of the pages back in. It's just...I don't know. Timeless. It's like time and darkness and sadness can't really come here." He sighed a little. "I'm still worried about Riku, though."

Roxas gently touched his shoulder. "Maybe we should go back, then." He murmured. Sora smiled.

"We don't have to do that yet, Roxas."

Pooh wandered over, followed by Piglet. "Would you like to meet everyone else now, Roxas?" He asked. "We could bring you to Owl's house."

"Just don't ask him to tell you any stories. We'll be here for days." Sora's gloom vanished instantly, and he grinned at Roxas. The blond sent him a wry smile.

"If Sora feels like I should, I suppose." He raised his brows, giving the brunet an opening to leave if he wanted to. Sora gave a tiny shake of his head.

"C'mon, Roxas. You might as well meet everyone." He tugged on the blond's hand. "Let's go meet Owl."

Pooh took ahold of Roxas' other hand, and together the four of them walked away, deeper into the Hundred-Acre Wood.

* * *

Voila. The cuteness that is the Hundred-Acre Wood. See, SuperFriendlySoraFan203! Told you it was coming along soon! XD And you get an extra couple of cookies for guessing that someone was going to end up going into the book with Sora, lol. He's been going alone for the past two games now...it's high time someone else got to share in the wonderful cuteness that is the Pooh book, lol.

Be forewarned, though. I think it's going to take me a little while to get the next chapter up. It's proving difficult. And the next new world has refused to start for me. So I might be incommunicado for a while. Probably didn't spell that right. Oh well. XD

I hope not, though. -crosses fingers-

Love,

Ivy J.


	15. Chapter 15

I LIVE!...again. -cough- No, no quoting Mulan for the moment, lol. I don't necessarily _like_ repeating myself...

For those of you who haven't popped by my profile page and seen my big, epic, horrid update, I'll say it again: My computer has officially passed through the pearly gates and into the giant scrap-heap in the sky. It's been cursed, mourned, threatened with a splintery death out the nearest window...etc etc...Unfortunately, none of these things has gotten me closer to acquiring a replacement. I need a job TT-TT.

So I have to deal with borrowing the family computer while everyone's at work and my little sister is busy rotting away in front of her assorted game consoles upstairs. Good times XD. Luckily, I didn't lose anything this time, and my lappytoppy hard drive is currently sitting on the computer tower at my side, humming through the little adapter my dad got me for it. So now it works basically like a thumb drive :D.

I hope nobody's given up on me. It's coming...slowly. At the moment, we're beginning a bit of a slow period...I have very little of the story for this section planned out. So don't expect regular updates XD. They'll kind come whenever.

On the bright side...

Arear: 'Tis a sad, sad soul that doesn't love the 100-Acre Wood, in my opinion. And cats getting stuck in trees make me giggle, lol, so it's all good. Is there going to be AkuRoku? If I can manage it XD. Right now, it might be a little difficult to make that happen, but it's possible. Aaaaaanything's possible...this is fanfiction! -heart-

Renkin-chan: Thank you! I do love Piglet. Ah, what am I saying? I love the whole cast of the 100-Acre Wood :D. I was watching The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Tigger Movie for inspiration, lol. I wish I had more Pooh movies on DVD TT-TT. I want Pooh's Grand Adventure too...

Rose93darkness: You were the only one to pick that out and mention it! I applaud you! -applause- And seriously, Sora needs to share the 100-Acre Wood, lol. He's been the only one jumping into the book for far too long XD.

strawberyla: Tigger _is_ a lot like Sora, lol. Although Tigger's more crazy, I think. I do love that stuffed tiger. I appreciate your review, and hope you continue to comment! :)

Dusty Soku: Yes, it's all very nice when Sora smiles again :) Things are very, very wrong in the KH-iverse when Sora can't find something to smile about.

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: I'm glad to see you enjoy your cookies, lol. And I'm very glad to see everyone enjoys the 100-Acre Wood so much. Just like I do! -heart-

Najwa Kannika: I honestly wanted to cry happy-tears when I saw I had a page-long review waiting for me. I didn't! But I wanted to, lol. Long reviews, especially when they include honest critique, are my favourite. To be honest, your comment about Xemnas was my screenname on MSN for a good...two weeks? Something like that XD. Very, very amusing. I try to balance description and dialogue...normally, I'm overbalanced towards dialogue, but I've been trying to change that XP.

Mr.Bigtime: I thank you for your comments, and hope you keep tuning in, despite the unfortunate conflict in our interests. Your idea about Sora's mother is amusing and admittedly an interesting idea, but I don't think I could take it on and do justice to it XD. On the other hand, the romance between Sora and Riku is mainly a subplot, mostly separate from the main plot, and I'm hoping that while your parents might not approve of the undertones, the main story will make up for that.

This is shoooort TT-TT. But I figured this was the best place to end it off. I don't feel like it's up to par with the rest of the story, but to be perfectly honest, I'm sick of looking at it. Seriously. God willing, it'll get better. In fact, I'm hoping to start working on the content for next chapter as soon as this is posted :D. That'll be less...stale.

Aaaanyway...after a long and tiring wait: Chapter 15! -heart-

* * *

A good hour later, Roxas came tumbling out of the book, arms flailing. An 'oof' escaped him as he hit the cold, unforgiving stone floor. Moments later, a Sora-sized weight knocked him back to the ground, not helping matters in the least.

"Oh, man! Sorry, Roxas!"

Both boys heard a soft chuckle coming from the bed. Curious, Sora pulled himself to his feet and wandered over. Riku looked up at him, a soft grin on his face. He'd obviously been laughing at their less-than-graceful exit from the book. When he saw the silver-haired teen awake and aware, Sora lit up. "Riku!" He cried, coming over to sit on the side of the bed. "How're you feeling?"

"Tired." Riku responded with a soft laugh. He canted his head slightly. "I heard you went to visit a friend. How is he?"

Sora smiled. "Oh, Pooh Bear's okay. Did we wake you?"

A grin flickered over the older teen's face. "You mean, you two stumbling in here like a pair of drunks?" He teased. When Sora grinned sheepishly, he laughed. "Yeah, you did. But it's okay...I was working on waking up anyway. That stuff Merlin gave me takes a while to wear off."

A poof of smoke appeared over Sora's right shoulder, startling the hell out of Roxas, who'd just managed to get to his feet. Merlin walked out, looking stern. "If you're talking already, it means that you need another dose." He said. Riku rolled his eyes.

"If you insist."

As the magician poofed away, Riku glanced back at Sora. "I _just_ woke up, too." He grumbled. The brunet teen couldn't help but chuckle.

"He's right, though. You'll heal better if you're resting."

"I _am_ resting. Look, I'm lying down and everything." The silver-haired teen protested. He fought to keep a straight face when Sora began to laugh.

Roxas wandered over to Kairi, who stood near Cid's computer. She'd been watching the blond mechanic write code since Riku had woken. When Roxas walked over, she smiled at him.

"They're really good friends, aren't they, Kairi?" The blond teen asked, looking back the conversing friends.

Kairi giggled a little. "Sora and Riku have been friends since they were little." She replied. "I wouldn't remember a time when they didn't know each other."

Roxas blinked curiously at her. "How long have you known them?"

"I was sent to the Islands when I was about four. They were already friends by then." Kairi tapped her chin a little, figuring in her head. "Sora would have been about four, too, which makes Riku five years old at that point. So it's definitely been a long time. I've known them for eleven years. They've known each other for at least that long."

"That's amazing." Roxas glanced back at the two in wonder. He could practically _see_ the good feelings radiating off Sora. Riku was blocked by the headboard of Merlin's bed, but he imagined the silver-haired teen was just as content.

How would it feel, to have known someone for so long? Though he and Sora were physically the same age, the brunet had lived for a long time before that fateful day when he'd turned into a Heartless and Roxas had been created. The blond teen had only technically existed for two years or so. He couldn't imagine having known someone for longer than that. Considering it, he figured that the closest thing he had to Sora's friendship with Riku was his with Axel. Though they'd only known each other for two years compared to eleven or more, it was still a major part of Roxas' life...if you could call his existence as a Nobody 'life'.

Merlin returned, holding a small vial of the same milky green liquid he'd given Riku earlier. He looked down at the two boys, one brow arched. "Now, are you going to take this, or will I have to make sure you drink it myself?" He asked. Sora chuckled at the considering look on Riku's face.

"Here, Merlin. I'll hang onto it. He'll take it once we're finished talking...right, Riku?" He grinned. The silver-haired teen rolled his eyes, but nodded, an amused twitch to his lips.

"I guess I don't have much choice." He replied. Merlin shook his head, but surrendered the bottle to Sora. The brunet teen looked down the neck of the bottle, interested.

"Hey, Merlin?" He called. "What's in this stuff?"

Merlin sent him an amused smile. "All you need to know, Sora, is that it will help Riku rest and heal." He answered. Sora grimaced at the vague response, but before he could ask anything else, the wizard had teleported away in another poof of smoke. Riku chuckled.

"Looking to become an apprentice wizard, Sora?" He teased.

Sora shrugged, a half-grin on his face. "Hey, I think it'd be kinda cool." He protested. "Besides, then we wouldn't have to come all the way back here when one of us gets really hurt. I could treat it."

"Speaking of cool..." Riku lifted his hand, poking Sora's knee gently. "What are those drive things that you do? That blue form you used on Morgana so that you could shoot her?" He asked.

"Oh." Sora grinned. "Wisdom form. That one's kinda fun. I merge with Donald, so my magic gets powered up. And I can skate along just above the ground instead of walking. And I shoot things instead of whacking them with my Keyblade." He grew thoughtful for a moment. "It's not so great for close-range stuff, though. Valor and Master forms are better for that."

Riku canted his head slightly. "Valor and Master forms?" He asked. "What are those like?"

"Valor's all physical stuff, because I merge with Goofy. No magic involved; if I try to cast anything, I revert back to just being me again. I'm all red, then. And Master form is balanced, just like normal me, except better...and yellow." He chuckled. "And I get to have two Keyblades. Actually, I get to have two Keyblades with either Valor _or_ Master. It's pretty fun, actually." He sat forward, propping his chin up on his hands, and resting his elbows on his knees. "And then there's Final Form. That one I don't use very often, though, because it's really tiring. I go all white and silver, and I get to use two Keyblades, but I don't actually hold them. They float along beside me and attack all on their own. And I _float_." He grinned.

"That's definitely cool." Riku admitted, laughing.

Sora chuckled. "If we ran into the three good fairies again, I could ask them to make you up Drive magic of your own. Then we could kick ass together."

"No, no." The silver-haired teen shook his head. "Turning funky colours is best left to you, I think." He teased. "Besides, who would I be merging with? That might get a little awkward."

Sora glanced back at Roxas and Kairi and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "Yeah." He agreed. "I think you're right. You kick ass on your own anyway." He nudged the older teen gently. A smug grin touched Riku's lips.

"Glad you remember that."

With a laugh, Sora looked down at the bottle in his hands. "Okay, c'mon. We've talked for long enough. You need to take another nap." He held the potion out to Riku, who took it, eyeing it dubiously. With a sigh, he raised it to his lips and tipped it back. A grimace touched his features as he finished it, causing Sora to laugh at him again. "Is it really that bad?"

"Yeah. It's _that_ bad." He nodded. Sitting back, he settled against the pillows with a sigh. "I guess I'll say goodnight again, then."

Sora nodded. "Yep." He replied. "I'll talk to you when you wake up again, okay?"

"Mm-hmm." Riku nodded back, blinking almost drowsily. Merlin's potion was already starting to do its work. With a soft smile, Sora leaned forward, touching a gentle hand to the silver-haired teen's shoulder.

"Goodnight, Riku." He murmured. Absently, his fingers toyed with a stray lock of silver hair as Riku drifted off. When the bit of hair was looped around his fingers, he gently tugged loose, letting it drop again. His touch began to trace the other teen's jawline before he realized what he was doing and snatched it back, looking around almost guiltily as if caught with his hand in the cookie jar or something equally shameful.

_'All right.'_ He fumed to himself, a soft pink blush touching his cheeks. _'Fine. I'll admit it, okay? I'm attracted to him. I mean, heck, who wouldn't be? Look at him.'_ He glanced back down at the sleeping teen and couldn't help the soft smile that tugged at his lips. '_And I mean, sure. It's a normal thing, right? To find yourself attracted to your best friend? Right?'_

It was odd and slightly depressing that the more you tried to convince yourself like that, the less confidence you had in what you were saying.

He'd always _admired_ Riku. Ever since they'd met, Sora had looked up to, and secretly envied, the older boy. Riku had always been taller, stronger, braver, faster, more experienced, more skilled, and more mature. Sometimes it felt like the one year that separated them was more like ten. But no matter how far the distance between them seemed to be, they were inexplicably linked.

A sigh left his lips. He turned around and sat forward again, folding his arms over his chest. _'It scared the hell out of me, seeing him drop the way he did. And all that blood...'_ Closing his eyes, he replayed the moment in his head; Morgana turning, her furious eyes pinned on him. How she'd hesitated and stared at the trident in surprise, watching it drip red. Riku hadn't made a sound, not when the sharp edge had sliced into his side, not even when she'd turned back to finish him off.

Merlin appeared again, looking down at the two of them with his soft blue eyes. "Good. He's resting." He placed a gentle hand on Sora's shoulder. "Would you come with me, Sora? I'd like to document your journey so far."

The brunet teen glanced up at the wizard. A soft sigh left him as he stood. "Sure, Merlin." He murmured. Letting Merlin lead him over to his desk, he watched as the older man took out a quill and a sheaf of papers, setting the quill on its point on the blank surface. The young Keybearer was only mildly surprised when the quill _stayed_ standing on the paper, completely on its own.

"Now, start talking, Sora. If I can hear it, the quill will write it."

Sora grinned and shook his head. "You and your crazy magical things, Merlin." He teased. Merlin smiled softly.

"I'm a very busy wizard."

* * *

It was a couple of days before Merlin would let Riku get up. Normally, the silver-haired teen would have balked at the treatment - it made him feel like the wizard thought he couldn't take care of himself - but when Aerith, Kairi _and_ Sora all took Merlin's view, he tolerated it. Aerith was too mothering...listening to her was practically instinctive. And, of course, if he were to willingly listen to anyone, it would be Sora or Kairi.

_'It's only for a little while.'_ He would tell himself. But it was difficult to be patient, when he felt more and more like a burden every day. They were supposed to be travelling, damn it, not sitting around waiting for him to heal.

At least the others were keeping busy. Most days, Roxas trained with Leon, honing his fighting skills in sparring matches with the older swordsman. Often, Yuffie would go out with them, rejoicing in having a sparring partner who would _actually_ spar.

Kairi hung out with Aerith most of the time. The brunette was well-versed in useful magics; not only defensive and healing, but certain attacks as well. When she wasn't with Aerith, the redhead would stay at Merlin's, watching over him while under the pretense of studying spells from the wizard's library.

That was where Sora was, too, more often than not. He would spend his days with Merlin's books, usually curled up in a comfy chair with a volume two inches thick. But Riku wasn't fooled; he knew how to read his best friend better than that. Sora could easily be training with Aerith, like Kairi was, or maybe sparring with Roxas, Leon and Yuffie. He didn't _need_ to stick around, but he did.

And if he were to be perfectly honest with himself, Riku minded his confinement a whole lot less when Sora was around.

"Hey, Riku, check this out."

Sora sat himself on the side of the bed, holding out a book for the silver-haired teen to see. It was another two-inch thick spellbook, this one bound in dark reddish purple. The page the younger Keybearer shoved in his face detailed a spell that would increase the speed of the being it was cast on.

One of Riku's brows rose. "Interesting." He replied. "Although it might be of more use to Kairi than the rest of us. She is our defensive spellcaster, after all."

Sora considered that for a moment. "Yeah, I guess she would be, huh?" He answered, after a second or two. With a sigh, he sat back, looking rather distant. "You know, while I was playing all those video games when we were younger, I never dreamed I would end up _living_ one."

Riku laughed softly. "I'd rather be the one playing than be a character myself, personally."

With a soft smile, Sora glanced back at him. _'It's definitely a lot less painful.' _He mused, his gaze drifting down to the bandages just visible under the other teen's jacket. His fingers twitched slightly; he wanted those _gone_.

"Damn it, Sora, stop feeling guilty already."

Sora blinked, torn from his thoughts. "What?" He asked. Riku was giving him a _look_.

"Stop feeling guilty. This wasn't your fault." He repeated. "If anything, it was partly _mine_, for not paying enough attention to what Morgana was doing. So stop guilt-tripping yourself."

With a sigh, Sora looked away. "Once you're back on your feet, I won't have any reason to feel guilty."

"Hmph. If that's what it'll take." The silver-haired teen swung his feet off the bed, pressing his hands down on the mattress and standing slowly. It took a second for his feet to adjust to supporting his weight again, and the moment he wobbled Sora was up and gripping his shoulders, the book dropping to the ground with a soft _thump_.

"Riku, stop. You shouldn't be up yet...you're not done healing. You could tear your side open again, Merlin said."

Riku glared at him, turquoise eyes flashing. "I can stand just _fine_. Merlin's being overcautious." He insisted. "I'm on my feet again, Sora. Will you stop with the guilt already?"

Gently, Sora nudged him until he sat back down on the bed. "All right. _Fine_. If _you_ keep resting, _I'll_ do my best to stop, okay?"

The tiniest of smirks touched his lips. "Good." He couldn't help the soft chuckle when Sora outright scowled at him.

"You know, sometimes you can really be an ass." The brunet teen huffed, folding his arms over his chest.

Riku's smirk widened. "Yep. That's me." He replied. When Sora showed no signs of forgiving him, he rolled his eyes. "Come on, Sora. You say something like, 'When you're back on your feet', you can't expect me to _not_ take that challenge."

Sora's bright blue eyes glinted with annoyance, although his lips twitched slightly in what might have been amusement. "You're right. I should have known better." He admitted.

* * *

Actually walking took Riku another day. Only once he'd proved to Merlin he could stay on his feet did the wizard let him get up and move around. Leon turned Roxas' sparring over to Yuffie, focusing instead on re-honing Riku's reflexes after the silver-haired teen's long inactivity. But the whole idea of having to work at getting back to where he was before he got injured was obviously grating on the older Keybearer.

"Don't feel obliged to go easy on me, Leon." He finally snapped, when the brunet swordsman pulled back from a blow for the third time in a row. Leon met the stormy aqua eyes with a steady gaze.

"Would you rather I accidentally sliced your head off?" He asked, coolly.

Riku scowled. "I've been sparring since I was five, Leon. I doubt it's quite _that_ drastic."

The tip of Leon's gunblade dropped to rest against the ground. "You're not back up to your old skill level yet, Riku. You're used to relying on your strength and speed to keep you from harm, and both are currently suffering. You _will_ slip up, and if we're in the middle of a full-speed match, I can't guarantee I won't hurt you. And then where would you be?"

He hated to admit it, but Riku could see the older swordsman's point. "I'd be back in that bed, healing."

"Exactly." Leon gave a tiny, quick smirk. "And we both know you'd hate that."

Despite his irritation, at that, the silver-haired teen couldn't help but smirk back. "You're right. I would."

Satisfied that Riku understood the risks of overdoing it, Leon raised his gunblade again, eyes narrowing. "So...are you ready now?"

Riku crouched slightly, Keyblade in hand. "Ready when you are." He countered cockily.

There was a pause as the two circled each other, cautious as all good fighters should be, before they clashed again and the battle began anew.

Seconds later, however, a few tiny voices interrupted them. "Leon! _Leon_!" A trio of foot-high faeries flew towards them, the leader flailing her arms in panic. When she stopped, the faded blue half-skirt tied around her waist drifted in the wind, as did the tiny braid dangling from behind her ear.

Leon pulled back, his gunblade dropping back into a neutral position. "What is it, Yuna?" He asked. Yuna pointed back towards the castle, her mismatched eyes wide with shock.

"Something's happened at the castle! There's something wrong in the computer room, Tron needs you to come right away!"

There was a soft mutter that sounded to Riku quite like a curse. Turning his way, Leon sheathed his gunblade again. "We'll finish this later, if we can."

Riku smirked slightly. "If you're not stuck behind that computer all day." He'd heard a lot about this computer; usually when something happened, Leon and occasionally Cid would disappear for the majority of the day. Leon's lips twisted slightly in response.

"If that ends up being the case, we'll meet again tomorrow." And with that, he turned and ran off, followed by the three little fae.

With a sigh, Riku retreated to sit down on the nearby stone wall. If he were to be honest with himself, he had been getting tired. He hated to admit it, but he really _wasn't_ quite back to normal yet.

Turning, he glanced through the fence, out at the network of canyons that ringed the city. There was a castle at the other end of the main canyon...someplace he'd heard Sora call 'Villain's Vale'. That one, together with the castle that stood inside the city's walls, seemed almost like sentries of opposing armies, watching each other so that at the first sign of trouble they could alert their inhabitants.

He suddenly laughed, shaking his head. _'You really _have_ been listening to Sora and Kairi too much.'_ He mused, ruefully. Both of them had a tendency towards fanciful thinking like that.

"Hey, Riku, what're you doing? Where'd Leon go?"

Speaking of Kairi...

He turned back, catching sight of the redhead leaning over the side of the staircase that led down towards Merlin's. "Apparently something came up with the computer. He had to leave in a hurry."

Kairi laughed. "So he left you all alone? Not very nice of him." She came over, sitting down on the stone next to him. "So how're you feeling?"

"I'm ready to leave." When the redheaded girl giggled at him, he couldn't help but smile, raking a hand through his hair. "I'm serious. I'm all right...not entirely back to normal, but close enough to deal. We're supposed to be searching for these keys, not waiting around here."

Kairi nodded. "I know, you're eager to leave, Riku." She sympathized, like he knew she would. "But wouldn't you rather err on the side of caution?"

"You've been listening to your dad too often, Kairi. There's no way you picked that phrase up on your own." Riku shook his head, grinning when Kairi gently smacked his shoulder. "And you're right, I would, but I'm getting...restless. I want to _go_."

"Well, come on then." Kairi stood, planting her fists on her hips as she stood before him. "Come down to Merlin's. Leon'll probably be gone for the day...you can hang out with us for now. I'm sure a glance in a few of those spellbooks would do _you_ some good too." Reaching out, she took ahold of his arm, pulling him to his feet. With a small smirk, Riku shook her off.

"All right, Kairi. I'm coming."

* * *

Another hour later, Roxas trudged in the door of Merlin's home, followed by an uncommonly perky Yuffie. "Oh, c'mon, kiddo." She sang out, clapping the wincing blond on the shoulder. "You're doing just fine!"

Sora couldn't help but grin. "What was today like, Roxas?" He asked, pulling himself to his feet and walking over. Roxas groaned.

"Painful."

"Oh, dear." Kairi, ever sympathetic, tugged him over to a chair and sat him down. "What was so bad about it?"

Yuffie grinned, flashing a peace sign. "Two words, Kairi. 'Sneak attack'." She grinned, as Sora chuckled. Kairi touched her fingertips to her lips, trying not to laugh. Even Roxas managed a weak smile.

"You know, as many times as you 'sneak attack'ed me, you'd think that it would've stopped being sneaky. But no." He shook his head. "Yuffie's inventive."

"Wouldn't've survived this long otherwise, Roxas." The dark-haired ninja replied. She wandered over to Riku's seat, placing her fists on her hips and looking down at him. "How're you doing, kid? That scratch of yours healing up nicely?"

Riku smirked slightly. "_I_ think so. Merlin doesn't."

"On the contrary, my boy." Merlin's voice rang out from the other side of the house. "I just think you are just far too impatient to allow yourself the time to heal."

Kairi giggled. "Riku's never been patient. About anything."

"Except maybe while I'm dealing with you guys." Was Riku's reply, spurring another giggle from Kairi and a tongue stuck out from Sora.

"So, instead of dwelling on what's happening now, let's look ahead. Where're you kiddies heading next?" Yuffie asked. "Got a destination in mind?"

Sora shrugged. "Whatever's closest." He admitted. "There isn't a whole lot of planning going into this. It's mostly just where the Gummi Routes take us."  
"Actually, I was going to ask." Roxas spoke up. "Do you think we can stop by Twilight Town on the way out? I want to update Naminé and Axel."

"I'm sure we can manage that, right, guys?" With a grin, Sora looked around. "Once Donald and Goofy and the King get back from Disney Castle, we'll talk to them about it."

A bright lance of light shot down from the sky at that very moment, as if the brunet's words had been a secret signal. When it dissipated, the dog, the duck and the mouse king walked over. "Hey there, everyone! How're things here?" Goofy asked, his trademark grin on his face. Mickey chuckled, walking over to the bed where Riku sat.

"How're you feelin', Riku?" He asked. The silver-haired teen smiled down at the tiny king.

"I'm okay." He replied. "Back on my feet again, which is nice. I'm a little impatient to get out of here, though."

"How are Queen Minnie and Daisy and everyone at the castle?" Sora asked eagerly. Mickey smiled fondly at the mention of his queen and Donald's sweetheart.

"They're doin' all right. Everyone sends their best wishes, by the way."

"Oh, we should stop by there sometime, while we're traveling." Kairi suggested. "I know I would love to see Disney Castle."

"Speaking of which..." Roxas glanced over at Mickey. "King Mickey, do you think we could stop at Twilight Town for a little while before we head off to our next world?"

The mouse king barely took a moment to think. "I don't see why not." He replied. "Once we're ready to leave, we'll go there first."

Riku's lips twisted slightly. "I don't know about everyone else, but _I'm_ ready to go."

With a quick smile, Mickey hopped back off the bed, walking over to Merlin. After a moment or two, they both disappeared in a poof of smoke. Sora couldn't help but grin.

"I think he's negotiating your release, Riku." He teased. Riku smirked.

"Nice of him."

* * *

-spazflail-

I don't liiiiike it. Like I said before, this is a bit of a downpoint...not a lot of stuff is happening here. But! Things will pick up soon. They _will_! I insist! XD

Much love,

Ivy J.


	16. Chapter 16

ZOMG, you guys! 74 reviews! Love! XD

Wow, look at this! I've got Chapter 16 up within a few days of 15! How did THAT happen? o-o;

I think it was all your lovely reviews, actually. XD I wasn't all too proud of Ch15, and when I saw that you guys still loved it, it gave my muse a boost of creativity. Score! :D

Dunno how long it'll take me to get 17 up, though. I'm not a huge fan of Wonderland, although I do like Lewis Carroll. And since I _don't_ have a copy of the movie, I'm having some difficulty getting accustomed to Alice. She'll probably resemble the written Alice more than the animated Disney Alice.

Arear: Yeah, I enjoyed writing the scene where Roxas and Sora tumble out of the 100-Acre Wood, lol. It was just amusing. And we're heading to Twilight Town, so I hope you like the AkuRoku-ish banter that follows. Axel's always fun to write...he's always so ready to flirt, lol.

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: Uh huh. It's starting :D. And Riku probably _was_ sore, for a while, but the work he put in with Leon helped with that, I think.

Renkin-chan: Well, I'm glad you all find it so interesting, lol. I tried to punch it up as best as I could. And yes, I did enjoy that little scene. It was cute. And fun to write. Expect more. :D

Dusty Soku: Yes, yes, everything's beginning now XD. Of course he's going to live, you silly. Well, for now, anyway. With my whims, and my roleplaying reputation, anything's possible. Me and one of my roleplaying partners killed off Sailor Star Healer, Yaten Kou from Sailor Moon, _at least_ a dozen times. So it's entirely possible it'll happen sooner or later. Buuuuut, not yet. We need some serious cuteness to happen first :D. It's more dramatic that way. And yes, Yuffie kicked Roxas' ass. XD He needs to get used to near-constant fighting...it's probably going to happen, sooner or later. And even if it doesn't, it's better that he's prepared for it anyway, lol.

Rose93darkness: I don't think Sora would group Antiform in with the rest of his Drive forms...he doesn't actually _choose_ to go Antiform, after all. And I imagine Riku would protest to that. He's not _helpless_, per se. He's just...temporarily incapacitated. XD Yep, we've got Twilight Town next. :D Twilight Town's fun.

Najwa Kannika: I didn't mean, like, "sob sob boo-hoo" cry! XD Happy tears are good things, lol. Especially for me. XD And the whole Xemnas thing was just too amusing...I had to share it. Just the mental image was enough for a couple of people to die laughing. T'was quite fun. I'm honored that you would use this as a base to improve your own fanfiction...I never would've expected anyone to do so. And yes, the thought of Riku turning funky colours amuses me too. Although, there's a deviant on DA who does some amazing Riku cosplays who has Valor, Wisdom, Master, Final and Antiforms for him. **Nanjokoji**, is her username. She's got a really adorable Sora, too, who she takes Soriku pictures with :D I'm amused to be killing off a Larxene, even accidentally, although I hope she'll get reincarnated when she notices I've mentioned her in this chapter XD The last little bit was written pretty much all at once...and the last two lines were one of those "Hey, let's end it...HERE!" moments. They make me smile too.

aniuwolfe: Nice to hear from you again! XD Do I really peg Merlin that well? Odd, I never encountered the Disney version of the character until I started playing KH, lol. The Sword in the Stone was not on my "Must See!" list when I was a child. I was too into the princesses XD -nibbles on cookie- Thanks for the gift! XD Glad you're still enjoying Riku...I think he preens under your attention, which is highly amusing XD

So, I guess this means that we're ready for...Chapter 16! :D

* * *

A sigh left Riku as the white light melted away, revealing the interior of the Gummi Ship. "You know, I never thought I'd be quite so glad to see this place." He commented wryly. Sora grinned at him, sitting down in the pilot's chair.

"So we're heading for Twilight Town, right?" He asked, a series of light finger taps letting him scroll through the Navi-Gummi. "Like you wanted, Roxas?"

"If no one else minds." He came up, leaning over the back of Sora's chair to watch the brunet enter in the coordinates for Twilight Town. He shook his head. "How can you do that so quickly?" He asked. Sora looked up at him, a tiny hint of smugness to his smile.

"Practice." He replied, turning his attention back to the keyboard. "I've been piloting this thing for two years now. When you're doing this once or twice a day for weeks at a time, you get used to it, trust me."

Roxas laughed. "I bet."

"Hey." Finished with the coordinates, Sora scrolled through the charts again, tapping twice on the image of a very green world marked out in squares like a chessboard, with a white castle sitting atop it. Instantly, a small quantity of white text appeared next to it. "That's weird...the charts say it's Wonderland, but Wonderland didn't look quite like that the last time I saw it." Turning, he called down the hall. "Donald, come check this out!"

The white duck came down the hall, settling in the co-pilot's chair. "What is it, Sora?" He asked. Sora tapped on the image of Wonderland again, and the world grew to fill the screen.

"Look. Why didn't we notice it before? It's not all that far away." He asked. Donald's brows knit in a frown as he took over, scrolling through the charts until he found what he was looking for.

"A storm." He pointed to a blob of reddish-pink that appeared to be moving away at a sedately pace. "See how we can't see through it? It must've blocked our sensors." He looked up at Sora. "Are we gonna head there?"

Sora glanced back at Roxas, who shrugged. "Maybe after we hit Twilight Town." He replied. "Naminé asked us to keep her updated, and if we get caught up in the troubles of some other world, we might not get back for a while. We'll go there next, though." He patted the white duck on the shoulder. "D'you think you can handle the piloting, Donald?" He asked. Donald scoffed at him.

"Of course I can."

With his trademark boyish grin, Sora stood. "Thanks." He replied, hugging the white duck around the shoulders. Donald squawked indignantly at him.

"Yeah, yeah." He grumbled. "You're welcome. We're only a few minutes from Twilight Town, so don't go far!"

"I won't." Sora called back as he left the room with Roxas. "Thanks again, Donald!" Peeking into the bedroom they all shared, the brunet grinned when he saw Riku reclining on the bed the three of them shared, a brown-bound book in his hand with a crown-and-flourish symbol on the cover. "What'cha reading?" He asked, sitting down and looking over the silver-haired teen's shoulder. Riku glanced sidelong at him.

"It's Jiminy's journal of your last adventure." He replied. "King Mickey said something about Queen Minnie having finished transcribing it while we've been gone, so he brought it along for you to see." He snatched it away before Sora could take it from him, a smirk on his lips. "Trouble is, I got here first."

"C'mon, Riku!" Sora protested, reaching across him to try and grab the book. "I want to see it too!"

"You were able to take a look the whole time you were out adventuring." Riku replied smugly. "You can wait."

"_Rikuuuu!_" The brunet whined, straining to reach the journal. "Please?"

Across the room, Kairi giggled, causing the two boys to look over at her in surprise. "Why don't we _all_ look at it at once, Riku?" She suggested. "Then we won't have disagreements."

Riku smirked again. "But we're having so much fun already...right, Sora?" He inquired. Sora sat back and folded his arms over his chest, pouting.

There was a chuckle from the doorway. Everyone turned to look at Mickey, who stood there, looking amused. "I think it'll have to wait, fellas." He called. "It's time to head down to Twilight Town."

"Oh, all right." Sora pulled himself up off the bed. "Can I take a look after we get back?"

Riku considered that for a moment as he set the book down on the bed. "I guess." He relented with a small smirk, ruffling the younger teen's hair. "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

They'd touched down in the Usual Spot, hoping to find Hayner, Pence, Olette and Naminé there. But instead, they were greeted with an empty hangout. No Hayner, Pence or Olette. No Naminé either, although from the presence of a blue notebook and a set of coloured pencils, it appeared as if she'd been there recently. Roxas walked over and knelt, picking up a broken pencil. "This doesn't feel right to me." He murmured.

And then, almost as if on cue, came the screams.

Everyone looked up in unison at the shouts, staring at the curtain wall that separated the Usual Spot from the alley. Roxas was back on his feet in a moment, the Bond of Flame Keyblade flashing into existence in his hand. Together, they ran out into the back alley to see what had happened while they were away.

What they found was not at all comforting.

The residents of Twilight Town were being attacked by a combined force of Heartless and Nobodies. Streaks of black shadow chased unsuspecting townspeople into writhing Dusks. Creepers shapeshifted into bird-shapes worked with Hook Bats and Air Pirates to knock people off staircases, ladders, balconies and roofs. Quickly, Sora drove to Wisdom form, pelting the flying creatures from afar. As they rushed out to help, Riku, too, began shooting Dark Aura bolts from his fingertips. Shields surrounded everyone in range, protecting them just long enough for them to collect their wits, and Pearls drove off the enemies that moved to cut off those that fled.

"Yeah, I definitely liked it better when they were on my side!"

Roxas looked up, surprised, when a large hollow metal disc came flying through the air and sliced the Dusk he was facing in half. When he turned, Axel grinned at him, holding a second disc in one hand.

"I missed my chakram." He explained, when Roxas arched a brow at him quizzically. "Scavenged these from a couple of leftover metal barrels. Need to fix them up some more, though…they don't handle quite like mine did yet." With a wink, he spun, slicing another Dusk to pieces. "Well enough to deal with these clowns, but not as well as I'd like."

The blond teen shook his head, then looked up as a chorus of cries rose from the sandlot. "Well, c'mon then. Let's go get rid of some more."

Axel smirked slightly, scooping up his second disc as the two of them ran down the hill, destroying any Heartless or Nobody in their path. "It's been a while since we went hunting together." He commented. "Sure you can keep up?"

The _look_ Roxas gave him brought him back to their days in the Organization together. "Can _you?_" He shot back. Axel laughed at that.

When they reached the sandlot, Roxas was horrified to discover that a pack of Dusks had cornered Hayner, Pence, Olette and Naminé. Hayner stood out in front of them like a guard sentry, Struggle bat in hand. "Get back!" He shouted furiously, swiping at the weaving creatures.

"Hayner, don't be an idiot!" Roxas shouted, running over to help. Hayner glared at him, brown eyes flashing.

"Roxas!" Olette cried, and for a moment the blond teen felt as if he were home. Like the Seven Wonders, and the Station of Calling, and the pod that held a sleeping Sora in the basement of the old mansion had all been just a dream. He took a place beside Hayner, Keyblade in hand, staring down the Dusks. They almost seemed to hesitate at the sight of him, as if they recognized him as a member of the Organization.

As he helped get rid of the _rest_ of the Heartless and Nobodies, Axel couldn't help but glance at Roxas out of the corner of his eyes from time to time. Although he only had one Keyblade instead of the two he was used to seeing, the blond seemed to have reacquired the grace he'd had during his stint in the Organization. Truthfully, he looked _fantastic_.

And, of course, the fact that he was using the keychain Axel had given Sora made things even better.

A tiny smirk touched his lips. _'Concentrate on getting rid of these guys, Axel.'_ He reminded himself. _'_Then_ you can watch the cute blond kid fight.'_

Roxas, on the other hand, focused completely on the task at hand, keeping the enemies at bay to protect his friends. Naminé shepherded a petrified Olette towards Station Heights, but couldn't help glancing back just in time to see Roxas look their way. She sent him a small smile and mouthed, "Thanks."

The blond Keybearer smiled back. Unfortunately, this distracted him enough that he tuned back into the fight a moment too late, earning himself a strike across the face from one of the surrounding Dusks. The impact knocked him to the ground, momentarily dazed.

"Roxas!" Naminé's cry drew Axel's attention. He spun just in time to see a lance-Creeper pounce on the blond teen. Slightly too slow to knock it away, Roxas grit his teeth when the blade scored a line over his left shoulder. Another Nobody, this one a sword-shape, struck repeatedly at the blond teen's back as he struggled to his feet. Whirling around, he knocked it away, only to be faced with a flock of them.

A white bolt of magic came out of nowhere, destroying one of the Nobodies Roxas faced just as the blond dropped to the ground again. One of Axel's makeshift chakram took out another two. Turning, the redhead saw Sora, dressed entirely in blue, black and white, skate across the sandlot just above the ground before kneeling next to Roxas. The moment he sank to the ground, a white light returned him to normal.

"Thanks." Roxas muttered, just as a Pearl flew out, shattering two Creepers and a Dusk. The rest of them vanished, obviously fed up with the sudden resistance. With a sheepish grin, Sora helped Roxas to his feet, an arm around his shoulders.

"No problem."

The moment the two boys stumbled, Axel ducked, slipping under Roxas' other arm. "Careful, Roxy, I don't think you're quite as sure on your feet as you think you are." With a glance at everyone else, he turned to Sora. "We should get him cleaned up. I think my house is closest."

Sora nodded. "Lead the way, then."

* * *

"Ow! Damn it, Axel-"

"You know, I don't think you would be swearing this much at Naminé. Maybe _she_ should be doing this while _I_ take notes on your little adventure." Axel's voice held barely-disguised sarcasm. As the soft, damp cloth touched his back again, Roxas grit his teeth against the stinging that followed.

Naminé sighed slightly, shaking her head, pen poised over the notebook on her lap. "You know, looking at you, I wouldn't have expected you to be such an awful patient." She commented. The blond Keybearer scowled.

"He gets that naturally." Kairi giggled. "Sora's the same way."

Axel laughed, watching Sora rub the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, things like that tend to carry." He replied. As he resumed cleaning out the scrapes in Roxas' back, the younger teen flinched again.

"Are you _sure_ you know what you're doing?" He demanded. Axel smirked.

"Obviously you've forgotten how many times I'd had to patch you up after a particularly disastrous mission." He responded dryly. "Although how you can forget that one time you came back from Halloween Town practically in tatters is beyond me. You bitched at Demyx and I the whole bloody time you were healing."

The mention of Nine made Sora look up from his seat across the room. "Demyx?" He asked, blue eyes wide.

Axel nodded. "Yeah. Fire and Water. You wouldn't think we'd get along. But he was a good guy...if a little bit of a dimwit at times." He couldn't help but smirk again, remembering the last time he'd called Demyx that, and how long it had taken to wring out his hair afterward. "He was the sort of person who would talk to you for hours to get your mind off something that'd been there all of thirty seconds."

"Sounds a little like Sora." Goofy commented. Sora blinked at him.

"Really?"

Riku's soft voice rose from his seat, near the window. "Maybe you don't realize when you do it, but that's _exactly_ what you do, Sora." His lips twisted slightly. "You'll talk about anything and everything under the sun to keep someone from dwelling on something that upsets them."

Mickey chuckled as the brunet teen sat back, looking slightly stunned. "I guess you really don't notice when you do it, Sora." He commented.

"I don't think Demyx ever noticed it either. He just reacted." Axel discarded the slightly bloodstained cloth and picked up a dry one, wiping the excess water away. "You two are a lot alike, now that I think about it, Sora. He didn't like seeing people in pain, or upset...although he was able to shrug that off better than you are, for obvious reasons." With his free hand, he gently tapped his chest. Sora nodded.

"How well did you know him, Axel?" He asked softly.

"Ah, everyone knew Dem. I think Xemnas regretted letting him join the Organization at first, but he just had this way of worming himself into your...non-heart." Axel smirked. "Bouncy and irritating, and at the same time more understanding than practically any other being in the Organization." He let go of a tiny sigh. "He changed a little after Zexion vanished, though. That was what made him determined to get his own heart again."

Sora's eyes narrowed in confusion. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Zexion? Was he part of the Organization?"

"Yeah. He and Demyx were...involved." It was best to leave it at that. "It was one of those pairs you couldn't ever imagine happening...Zexion was one of those loner bookworm types. But Dem managed to draw him out of his shell...just enough."

"Oh." Kairi's blue eyes were sympathetic. "That's so sad. What happened to him?"

Naminé glanced up from her writing momentarily, shooting a quick, mild look Riku's way, but Roxas didn't think anyone noticed but him. He arched a brow, asking the blonde girl a silent question, but she shook her head.

"He disappeared." Axel was saying, in the meantime. "He and a good half the Organization...Zexion, Vexen, Lexaeus, Marluxia, and Larxene. We traded rumours for a while that they'd been sent away to start another Organization nearby, but when you came along," He nodded at Sora again, "everyone decided that was a stupid idea."

Sora looked pensive again, his head canted to one side. "Marluxia..." He repeated. "That's weird. That name sounds familiar, but I don't know where I would've heard it."

Naminé glanced up again, only this time in Sora's direction. Something in her gaze told Roxas that she was surprised, although he had no idea why that would be.

Axel laughed. "I think you would remember if you'd met Marluxia." He assured Sora. "Pink-brown hair, carried a giant scythe, and always surrounded by flower petals?" He chuckled again. "There were always some serious rumours going around that he was gay, but I was never really sure of that...he and Larxene always seemed to have something going on, to me."

"It's really weird, but it almost feels like I've met him." Sora looked rather troubled by this, propping his chin up on his hands. "And Larxene sounds a little familiar too...was she blonde?"

Axel glanced Naminé's way. "Yeah, she was." He replied. "Light, like about Naminé's colour."

This time, when the blonde girl looked up, there was a hint of warning in her eyes. A moment later, Axel shook his head.

"Maybe you're just recalling figments of Roxy's memories." He suggested, nodding Roxas' way. "I mean, you guys were integrated for a while there."

Roxas, meanwhile, couldn't help but scowl. "I love how he's talking as if I'm not actually in the room." He muttered to Naminé, who giggled. Axel smirked, obviously hearing the blond's complaint.

"What, Roxy? Jealous?" He teased. "Sora's not quite my type. I like a kid with thorns on them." He couldn't help looking smug when both boys looked up at him with nearly identical reactions of surprise and cute little pink blushes. Score.

Unlike Sora, who did nothing more than chuckle sheepishly, Roxas sputtered, startled. "Jealous? Me?" He wondered aloud. "Why would I be jealous?"

Dramatically, Axel placed a hand on his chest. "Oh, Roxy, you wound me." He sighed. Naminé giggled again.

"Okay, Roxas. You got distracted just as you left...Chateau Vitrearii." She murmured, pen poised over the paper. "What happened next?"

As Roxas retold their adventure so far in soft tones, Sora couldn't help but notice when Riku pulled himself to his feet and strode over to the balcony, where King Mickey stood on the railing and stared out at the sunset. The mouse king jumped slightly, startled by Riku's entrance, but soon enough they were chatting comfortably. Mickey even said something that made the silver-haired teen laugh.

There was a tiny part of Sora's heart that wasn't entirely pleased by this.

He tried to squash it almost the moment he felt it – he had absolutely no good reason to be jealous – but that little sliver of thought persisted, demanding that Riku was _his_ best friend, damn it. That _he_ should be the one out there laughing with the older teen.

_'Riku and King Mickey became good friends while they wandered the realm of darkness together. _You_ are just being silly.'_ He lectured himself. _'That doesn't mean anything else about him, or you, or the King has changed.'_

"You know, Sora, he'll always be your best friend."

The soft voice abruptly tore him away from his thoughts. Looking up, he met Kairi's sympathetic blue eyes and blinked. "Why do you say that?" He asked, trying to keep from being too obvious. Kairi giggled softly.

"Sora, it's written all over your face." She replied. "Cheer up. You've never really had to share him with anyone...not even me. It's normal that you might feel a little...displaced."

Sora folded his arms over his chest, a half-scowl on his lips. "Why is it that everyone can read me like I'm some sort of comic book?" He demanded, his voice just as soft as hers. "Am I _really_ that obvious?"

The redheaded girl gave another sheepish giggle. "Sorry, Sora, but yes, you are." She admitted. "You always have been. I don't think that's ever going to change."

He sighed. "I can _try_."

"But then you just wouldn't be you." She protested. "And if you weren't you, I think some of us would be incredibly sad. Including me."

Sora's scowl morphed into a rueful smile. When Kairi saw this, she laughed again, hugging him around the shoulders. "See? That's better." She insisted. He chuckled, after a moment.

"Thanks, Kairi."

Over on the other side of the room, Naminé was just finishing off her transcription of their voyage. As she finished writing, the blonde girl smiled up at Roxas, looking shy. "Your adventure is so fascinating...I wish I could come along."

Roxas canted his head. "Why not?" He wondered. "I mean, space might be a problem – the Gummi Ship is really tiny – but I don't think anyone would be upset."

Naminé shook her head. "I'm not a Keyblade Wielder. I wouldn't have any purpose there." She confessed. "And I could never fight the Heartless the way you all do. I'm not a fighter."

"Oh." _That_ made him feel a little stupid. "I guess that makes sense."

She giggled again. "It's okay. I'm used to it." She assured him. "I'm happy to sit on the sidelines and watch. Even just the little adventure I've been part of was enough for me. I like hearing about them, though, so don't forget to come back and add to this." She tapped the cover of the notebook she was using. Roxas chuckled.

"Of course."

"So, how's your back feeling, Roxy?" Axel asked from the doorway. He'd left the room, but no one could remember when or where he said he'd be going. He arched one red brow, the faintest hints of a wicked grin on his lips. "Was I up to par?"

"Well, it doesn't hurt any more." The blond replied. "I guess that's a good sign."

Axel grinned. "I love it when you play hard to get. It's so amusing." Coming over, he nudged the younger teen's arm. "C'mon, admit it. I did good."

Roxas laughed, as the redhead went from nudging to poking his sides. "All right, all right!" He replied breathlessly, in between laughs. "Thanks, Axel."

Axel gave a wink. "See, Roxy, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He teased. Watching them, Kairi giggled.

"Sora, they banter like you and Riku do." She said. Sora looked up at her, blinking in surprise.

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yep."

"So, Sora. Where're you guys headed off to next, after you're done here?" Axel asked, his tone changing abruptly from teasing to curious. "Got a plan in mind at all?"

Sora glanced at Donald. "I think the next world on our route is Wonderland." He replied, after some thought. "It's not too far from Radiant Garden...Donald thinks it might've been blocked on our sensors by some sort of storm, which is why we didn't pick it up before."

"You mean the place with that crazy purple cat with the wicked grin?" The redhead inquired with a laugh. "Have fun. I wanted to throttle that little beast last time I was there."

Roxas looked up at him in surprise. "You've been there?" He asked. Axel arched a brow at him.

"Of course, Roxy. So've you." He replied. "We were sent there on a mission with the Organization...you and me and...Xigbar, I think." Settling into an expression of deep thought, he was silent for a few moments. "It was just one of those 'clear out as many Heartless as you can' missions, if I remember right."

"That's weird." Roxas folded his arms over his chest, thinking. "I don't remember that at all."

Axel scoffed. "Not so weird." He countered. "You forgot a lot when DiZ put you into that computer simulation."

There was a bit of an awkward silence after that. Determined to keep it from lasting too long, Sora ventured a question. "Where else have you been, Axel?" He asked. The redhead looked up at him in surprise, before he grinned.

"Oh, all over." He replied. "Wonderland. What's it called...Land of Dragons, that's it. Halloween Town. Agrabah. That Olympus Coliseum place. If you were in the Organization, you were sorta at Xemnas' beck and call." With a grin, he sat down on the couch next to Roxas. "You ended up on all sorts of different worlds."

The door from the balcony opened, and Mickey peeked in. "Roxas, we just saw Hayner, Pence and Olette walk by, headed up the hill." He announced. "D'you want to go say hi?"

At the mention of the trio, Roxas sat up straight. "Of course." He began, then looked around hesitantly. "That is, if no one minds."

Axel kicked out, gently hitting the back of the blond's thigh. "Nah. Go have fun with your little friends, Roxy."

"Say hi to them for us, will you?" Sora asked. Roxas nodded.

Naminé stood, picking up her notebook and pencil. "Could I maybe come too, Roxas?" She asked shyly. When he blinked at her in surprise, she dropped her voice. "I figure you want them to get to know you a little better, and if I vouch for you, that might help." She offered.

The blond teen smiled. Turning to the balcony door, he called, "Hey, King Mickey? Were they carrying anything? Like, snacks or anything?"

The tiny king looks thoughtful for a moment. "Didn't look like it." He replied. "Why?"

Roxas grinned. "Nothing." He replied mysteriously. Heading for the door of Axel's apartment, he waved a goodbye. "Thanks, guys. See you later!"

* * *

"Do you mind if we join you?"

Blinking in surprise, Hayner turned. In the window that led into the station tower stood Roxas and Naminé. The blonde girl looked shy, while Roxas held a box, giving a sheepish smile.

"Well, I don't mind, not after you helped save us today. You, Olette?" Pence replied, glancing at the brunette girl. Olette shook her head with a smile.

"Come on out, Roxas. You too, Naminé." She invited, patting the seat next to her. With a smile, the two of them climbed out onto the ledge and sat, their feet dangling over the entrance to the station. Olette blinked at the box that Roxas held. "What's that?"

"It's hot today, and when I saw you guys up here, I figured it would be even worse up here." The blond teen explained. "I figured we could all do with something to cool us off." He held up one of the bars of ice cream from the box and watched Pence and Olette light up.

"Sea salt ice cream!" The brunette cried, and Pence laughed. Both of them took bars from the box, grinning.

"How'd you know, Roxas?" Pence asked. Naminé raised one hand, twiddling her fingers and smiling sheepishly.

"My fault, sorry." She confessed, figuring that the truth might've been a little hard for them to digest. When she glanced at Roxas, he sent her a grateful smile.

Setting the box down at his side, the blond teen stood, walking across the ledge behind Pence and Olette. "Hayner, d'you want one?" He asked, holding one out like the peace offering he knew it was. Hayner eyed it almost suspiciously for a moment before he reached out, taking the bar of ice cream from Roxas' hand.

"Thanks." He muttered. Roxas smiled as he returned to his seat, pulling the wrapper off his and tasting it as he watched the afternoon sun.

_'Man, there's no place like home.'_

* * *

There's no place like home...-tap tap- there's no place like home...-tap tap-

Sorry, couldn't help myself, lol. Just had to. Yay, Roxy's enjoying some quality time with his buddies...who aren't really his buddies yet XD. That's okay. He just needs them to get to know him all over again. Then they'll be buddies again. :)

I was actually amazed that this finished itself so quickly. So, I'm giving it out early and setting myself back again. Oh well. XD

Hope you enjoy it! -heart-

Ivy J.


	17. Chapter 17

ZOMG! I EXIST!

I'm _so_ sorry, guys. I was actually kinda hoping to get this out for DCL's 1-year-anniversary on September 29th, but my inspiration was so dead. Actually...it wasn't really dead, it was just kinda...distracted. I've started roleplaying again, which is a plus, but this means that I'm dividing my inspiration between DCL and my roleplaying. And, to be perfectly frank, roleplaying tends to get more priority, because it's quicker. XD

But that does _not_ mean I won't be updating! It just means I'll be slower to do so. Hopefully not THIS slow, though o.o; This was...really bad.

Rose93darkness: Yeah, it really is. Although Riku's right...it's not like Sora couldn't've taken a look while he was adventuring. He just wanted to take a look because Riku had it XD.

My Anonymous Reviewer: Yeah, I really wanted a decent reason for them to be travelling. I didn't just want it to be "Hey, we're going on a vacation! XD" because, to be honest, that really wouldn't make sense to me. How could they possibly get sick of their world so quickly after having been away for more than a year? And I've had a couple of requests to add other Nobodies in...I actually have a friend who has a penchant for Vexen, who wanted him thrown in too, lol. I don't really have any plans to have anyone else show up, though. I did want Demyx and Zexion (thus the reference, lol) but I couldn't find a good reason for it. And your suggestions for worlds are intriguing and amusing, although I tend to stay away from Pixar-based movies, because they're just not my thing. Maybe as a "Bonus Episode", later, if I'm really stuck and need something to move my creativity. And I did contemplate Narnia for a little while...I do love those books. But it just didn't work somehow. Again, maybe as a bonus thing XD.

Arear: He really tried _not_ to be jealous...it just didn't work. lol.

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: I've always wanted to try sea-salt ice cream. It's like pistachio; something you'd never, ever expect in an ice cream XD. And I don't know if he'll ever actually _remember. _We'll just have to wait and see :D

Najwa Kannika: Hope you like this chapter as much as the last. It took forever, but it's here! And it's a little longer than usual...I think I tried to make up for the lack of updates. XD Axel seems to write well for me, I'm not certain why. And I don't know why it just seemed to perfect for Roxas to be such a baby XD it just did. Maybe because he's so used to kicking ass, he hasn't been hurt in a while? Something. I dunno. And maybe you did see some AkuRoku -shifty eyes- but whether or not it'll come through is still up for debate. Somewhat. But not really XD. And I really don't mind the long reviews. Keep 'em coming! -heart-

RavenQuill: Well, thank you for that. It was, partly, what I was trying to do. There's _no way_ any one of them could've gone through all that without it having some sort of consequences later.

shadows-3019: To be perfectly honest, I started out in my anime/gaming career not liking yaoi. It wasn't that I thought "Eww, guy-on-guy". It was just that the dynamic between two guys is so different than it is between two girls, or a guy and a girl. I suppose I was able to relate better to yuri and het. I think it might've been Gravitation that changed my mind a little. XD And I have mixed feelings about Kairi. I liked her better in the second game...but that might've partly been the fact that she wasn't being thrown in Sora's face left and right in the second game XD. Hope you keep reading!

Dusty Soku: I didn't have any plans for Axel to join them...the Gummi Ship really is tiny, lol. But maybe, if I can figure a way to wrangle it. Don't get your hopes up, though, sorry. But do not fear! This is not the last time we shall see our spiky-haired pyromaniac, lol.

aniuwolfe: I think Nomura would disagree, but I, for one, am very flattered. -nibbles cookie- Personally, I'm more of a Soriku fan myself, and I truthfully don't mind a bit of Namixas here and there, but you just can't get the same snarky, bitchy conversation without Axel in there. Roxas and Axel would snipe at each other constantly, even if they were sleeping together and deeply in love, unless the dynamic between the two was drastically altered -inserts subtle plug for Meleiyu's 'Love Your Servant' here :D-

I've finally acquired a job, so I'll be putting money away for obtaining my driver's license and a new laptop, along with my college funds XD Maybe, once that happens, I'll be able to write more consistently. God willing.

Enjoy!

* * *

A knock sounded on the front door of Axel's apartment before the door opened and shut. Roxas was practically beaming as he walked into view, an open, genuine smile on his face as he spoke rapidly to Naminé, who walked beside him.

"-and I felt like such an idiot, you know?" He was saying, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I mean, I knew he was goading me just so I would make a fool of myself, but he got me so angry I just couldn't help it."

"Roxy, you know, you really should get a hold of that temper of yours." Axel's lips twisted in a soft smirk as he reached out, ruffling the blond's hair as he walked past. "Looks like you had a good time."

Roxas nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, guys, for letting me pop out for a little while."

Sora chuckled, patting the arm of his chair. "Why wouldn't we?" He asked, as the other teen came over and sat down so the brunet could hug him. "We all knew why you wanted to go, and it's not like we're really in a hurry. Especially after that attack this morning...if the Nobodies and the Heartless show up again, it'd be better if we were here."

"We can't stay here forever, o'course, but we can be around a little while longer, just in case." Mickey agreed. Roxas couldn't help a tiny smile when he saw the tiny king perched on the arm of Riku's chair. "We should probably leave tonight, though."

Axel rolled his eyes with a slight smirk. "Great. This means I have to feed you."

"Maybe we should go out or something." Roxas suggested, eyebrows raised. "I don't think I want to see you anywhere near a stove."

"Oh, Roxas, your lack of faith in me breaks my newly-acquired little heart."

* * *

Despite his grumblings and Roxas' doubts about his skill with kitchen appliances, Axel managed to pull together a decent meal. No one was too surprised, however, when the aforementioned meal was mostly made up of burgers and hot dogs. Sora and Naminé, practically at the same time, volunteered to make a run for other supplies. When they returned together, they brought with them a rather eclectic mix of groceries, as Naminé had decided to pick up other things she'd noticed Axel needed. As a result, the redhead's newly-acquired fridge went from being sparsely populated...to stuffed.

Feeling like the meal needed a little more nutritional value, Kairi joined her ex-Nobody in the kitchen, shooing Axel out in the process. Deprived of his spot with the food, Axel decided to settle down in the living room and torment Roxas instead. This was received by the blond teen in a rather mixed way; he constantly seemed to be trying to fight back a grin even when scowling.

At least, until Sora decided to join Axel in his teasing. Then Roxas began to fight back, muttering under his breath all the while about being 'ganged up on'. Only when he accidentally hit the brunet teen over the head in his half-flailing did Sora back out of the tussle, curling up in his chair again. "Ow." He murmured forlornly, rubbing his head. Riku arched a brow at him.

"You were expecting something different?" He inquired. Sora winced slightly as if recalling the memory of the hit itself.

"I guess not, now that I think of it." The brunet teen realized with a shrug. His bottom lip curled in a slight pout again. "But I didn't really expect it to hurt."

An amused light touched Riku's turquoise eyes. "You've gotten worse from all the Heartless and the Nobodies you've been fighting."

"So? I expected that to hurt. There's a difference." He blinked in surprise as Kairi walked out of the kitchen, laden down with plates, and placed one on his knees. His hands were still on his head when he grinned up at her. "Thanks, Kairi."

She giggled. "Maybe the food will keep you from pouting over your dire injuries." She teased as she turned to keep handing out plates. In retaliation, Sora stuck his tongue out at her.

"Oh, Sora. I can think of far better things for you to do with that than to stick it out at people." Axel smirked mischievously. At the obviously-implied innuendo, Roxas very nearly choked on the first mouthful of his burger and smacked the redhead's shoulder, making Axel laugh. "Jeez, Rox, calm down. I told you; Sora's not my type."

"Can we not pick on me, please?" Sora rubbed his cheek as if trying to cover the light pink blush that had spread over his face, while everyone laughed. "There's been enough of that today, in my opinion."

* * *

Once the sun set, they all bid Axel and Naminé goodbye and returned to the Gummi Ship. The moment the tiny spacecraft materialized around them, Sora hurried for the room they were all sharing, picking the journal up from where it lay discarded on his bed.

The first page was titled with "The Keybearer's Journey" in Queen Minnie's over-flourished script. Below that, she'd written: "Volume Two: The Nobodies"

Flipping through, he saw that it wasn't a world-by-world chronicle...it jumped all over the place, following the real route his journey had taken. It was a little stunning to see it all down on paper – the book was a good two-thirds of an inch thick. A soft smile tugged at his lips when he got to the second bit of the Land of Dragons, flipping through the pictures until he found the one he was looking for.

The view from over his shoulder looked out on a tall someone in a black Organization cloak, standing in the snow of Tung-Shao. Looking back on things, Sora wondered how he could've possibly thought it was anyone else; 'someone in black' had practically been shadowing him for the entire second half of his journey.

"Can I see?"

The brunet Keyblade Master looked up. Roxas blinked down at the book in his hands with curious blue eyes. "Of course you can, Roxas." He smiled. "Come and sit down."

When the blond teen sat down, the first thing Sora flipped to was the picture that had appeared in the journal when they entered the data-Twilight Town. Roxas' lips twisted somewhat ruefully when he saw the image in the book of him standing before Sora's pod in the basement of the old mansion. "That was the worst end of summer vacation I think I could ever imagine." He sighed. Sora patted his shoulder gently.

"Sorry."

The blond shrugged lightly. "Not like I'd actually been to school anyway, right? So I suppose it doesn't matter." With a glance down, he reached out and tugged at the book so that it rested over both their laps. As he did so, the pages flipped until they came to the assorted characters near the end of the book.

The person on the page had hair a curious shade of pink-brown and sharp blue eyes, and was clothed in an Organization cloak. The title read "Marluxia, the Graceful Assassin – Number XI"

"'Formerly Organization's Number XI. He has been eliminated.'" Sora read aloud, brows drawing together in a frown. "'He plotted an Organization rebellion and tried to seize the power of the Keyblade, but Axel's betrayal led to his destruction.'" His eyes narrowed. "That doesn't make sense...I thought Axel said that Marluxia and the others disappeared."

Roxas shrugged again. "I don't know, Sora." He replied. "If I remembered, I would tell you, but I don't know if I'd know what happened anyway." He glanced up, suddenly arching a brow when he saw Riku, standing in the doorway with a startled look on his face. "What's wrong?"

Sora looked up at him, then followed his gaze to the silver-haired teen, who shook his head as if to compose himself. "I...nothing." He muttered. "How are you guys enjoying the journal?"

"The entry for Marluxia – which shouldn't be here _anyway_, because I don't remember running into him at all – says that Axel betrayed him when he tried to use the Keyblade to take over the Organization. But Axel said he didn't know what had happened to Marluxia, right? Just that he and those other members of the Organization disappeared." It wasn't just the fact that the entry contradicted Axel's story that bothered Sora...the entry shouldn't've existed in the first place, because Marluxia hadn't been involved in his last adventure, not that he remembered, anyway. And how could he have tried to use the Keyblade to take over the Organization?

Watching him, both boys noticed that Riku suddenly looked just the slightest bit uncomfortable. He came forward, sitting down on Sora's other side. "Let me see." He requested. With an arched brow of his own, Sora handed him the book, open still to Marluxia's entry.

"Riku, d'you know something I don't?" He asked, after he watched the elder teen scan the page. Riku's gaze lifted to his, somewhat guarded.

"Why do you say that?"

Sora's frown deepened. "You don't seem surprised that the stories don't match."

For a moment, the silver-haired teen didn't answer, glancing back down at the book. He then flipped through the pages until he found the one he was looking for, before handing the journal back to the Keyblade Master. "You didn't read these, did you?" He inquired.

The page was entitled "Secret Ansem Report – Number Seven." Sora blinked at it for a moment, then shook his head. "Not really." He replied. "Why d'you ask?"

"It should help explain things."

There was silence for some time as Sora read, and both Riku and Roxas watched him somewhat warily. Roxas was still curious as to why Riku seemed to know what was going on, and why it seemed like he'd kept it from Sora. And all those furtive glances Naminé had been throwing around earlier...was it all connected?

Finally, the brunet Keybearer looked up again, looking somewhat shaken. "Why wasn't I told about this?" He demanded. "Why did you hide it from me?"

"Naminé thought it was best that you didn't know." Riku replied coolly. "She asked me not to tell you. Especially after it took her so long to fix your memories again...she was afraid that if you were told what happened, it might undo all that."

A glint of confusion touched Sora' eyes. "D'you know what happened to me, Riku, before Naminé began fixing my memories?" He asked. "I don't remember anything past the closing of Kingdom Hearts...after we decided to go looking for you and King Mickey."

Riku shook his head. "I don't know the whole story...you'll have to ask Naminé about that. But you and I both ended up at Castle Oblivion, which is where that missing half of the Organization went. I think I only remember it because my presence there wasn't connected to your memories...but it _is_ a little fuzzy." He admitted. "I know I got rid of Lexaeus and Zexion...so I can only assume you defeated everyone else that went missing there."

He could tell that really bothered Sora. "Why did Naminé have to fix my memories in the first place?"

A tiny smile tugged at Riku's lips. "She _did_ tell me that...she felt horrible about it." He said. "Marluxia ordered her to replace Kairi in your memories, she said. Something about him using her to manipulate you. I can only imagine he wanted to use you to go up against the rest of the Organization. So when you defeated Marluxia, she put you to sleep to fix them."

"Oh." With a bit of a sigh, Sora sat back. "I guess that makes sense."

Just then, there came a call from the cockpit. The boys looked up in surprise, and Sora closed the journal and set it down before he got up and walked out of the room. "What's up, guys?"

Goofy was waving from the co-pilot's seat. "Hey, Sora, come look what else we found on our way!"

Wonderland lay before them out the viewscreen, all green, red and white. In the corner was a smaller version of the Navi-Gummi's star chart, with three other worlds arranged in a grouping with Alice's world. Sora recognized one, a darker world topped with a grey stone castle, almost instantly. "Hey, that's Beast's Castle!" He grinned. "We can go visit the Beast and Belle on our way!"

"D'you recognize the other two?" Donald asked, pointing at them. One looked similar to Beast's Castle and Radiant Garden; it was double-ended by a light castle and a dark one, and girdled by a forest. The other was crowned with what appeared to be a farm. Sora blinked at them both.

"No, I've never seen them." He replied, with a glance at Riku and Roxas, who flanked him. "Have either of you guys seen these places before?"

Silent, Riku shook his head. Roxas, too, shook his head no after a moment. "They're not ringing any bells." The blond muttered. "But then again, I'm not remembering a whole heck of a lot from my earlier days."

Sora grinned. "Well, I guess that means we'll all be discovering them together." He declared. "But first, let's head down and check on Alice."

* * *

Just like the first time he'd come to Wonderland, Sora felt dizzyingly weightless for a moment before he began to fall, almost leisurely, through the air. But unlike that first time, everyone seemed to touch down softly on the grass, without piling on top of one another by accident.

His first thought, after looking around, was that this was a very different Wonderland from the one he was used to.

The sun shone brightly on them all as they stood before a quaint little home, surrounded by person-sized flowers. Sora bit back a grin when Roxas leaned forward to examine the head of one bloom and all of a sudden jerked back in alarm when the obviously-miffed petunia began to _shout_ at him.

"How _dare_ you _peer_ at me, you, you scruffy little weed!" She shrilled, her voice slightly accented and sounding rather offended. Roxas, obviously unused to being addressed by a talking plant, stared back, his surprise striking him mute.

"Um, I'm sorry?" He finally stammered. Sora chuckled softly, unable to help himself.

"I'm sure he didn't mean any harm. Right, Roxas?" He replied cheerfully. The petunia turned her head to look at him.

"Oh, it's the thorny-headed one again!" She cooed, reaching out a leaf to ruffle his 'thorns'. "You gave potions to my sisters in the Lotus Forest, and they gave you gifts in return!"

"Gifts? Gifts?! What gifts?!" A pack of daisies at the roots of the petunia suddenly began to clamour.

"Hush, all of you." A sultry-voiced rose intoned on the other side of the path. Instantly, the daisies quieted. "Forgive me," she continued, when Riku flinched away from her attempt to stroke _his_ hair, "you've got such nice petals, even though they're beginning to droop."

Kairi giggled softly at the look on Riku's face. "I think she meant it as a compliment, Riku."

"Oh, _do_ tell me I'm not dreaming again! Sora, is that really you?"

A short blonde girl in a blue dress with a white apron ran up, taking Sora by the hands. "Oh, I'm _not_ dreaming! It _is _you, Keybearer!"

"Hi, Alice." Sora grinned back, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He let her pull him into an impromptu dance there among the talking flowers. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm just fine! I came into the Looking-Glass House for a bit of a holiday, and now I was just told by the Red Queen that this is the second square, like on a chessboard, and all I need to do is get to the eighth square and I'll be a queen! Oh, Sora, _do_ come with me!"

"Y'mean, like bodyguards?" Goofy chuckled, causing Mickey to laugh. At the sight of the tiny mouse king, Alice gave a soft squeal of delight and scooped him up, cuddling him close as if he were a doll. Despite Donald's squawk of protest, Mickey did nothing more than chuckle, pat the young girl's head and say, "It's nice to meet you too, Alice. I'm Mickey."

Alice nearly dropped the diminutive royal in her shock. "Mickey? As in _King_ Mickey? Oh, _do_ forgive me, Your Majesty!" She set him back down on the ground and curtseyed swiftly. Sheepish, Mickey rubbed the back of his head.

"Please, Alice, y'don't need to stand on ceremony. I don't need all the bowin' and the curtseyin'."

"Oh, all right!" The blonde stood again. "If you insist, Your Majesty." At that moment, she caught sight of Kairi. "Oh, it's you! The seventh princess! I never _did_ catch your name." She added ruefully, as an afterthought. Kairi giggled.

"I'm Kairi, Alice."

"Won't this be fun? Perhaps you and I shall become queens here together! We can have tea, and talk of dresses and jewels and all sorts of-Oh!" Alice suddenly shrieked, causing the flowers around to recoil in pain. She pointed accusingly at Riku, blue eyes flashing. "You!"

Riku sighed heavily. He'd been wondering when she would notice him and they would get all this fuss over with. "Hello again, Alice." He muttered.

She stalked over to him, furiously jabbing him in the chest with a finger. "Don't mock me, you rude, rotten _boy_!" She spat the word like a curse. "You _kidnapped_ me!"

"The first of my many stupid deeds, all right? I _apologize_." He snapped back. "I don't need you, _Princess_, or anyone else reminding me just how much of an idiot I was to have believed Maleficent."

Alice stepped back, drawing back her hand as she blinked in surprise. Obviously she'd been expecting something different...perhaps she'd thought he would defend himself and start a splendid little row with her. As the awkward silence stretched, Sora cleared his throat.

"Hey, Alice? Do you have any idea where we're supposed to go to get to the eighth square?" He asked. She looked his way and nodded.

"Of course I do! The Red Queen told me." She smiled. "There are little rivers between the squares, and the first one is right there!" Pointing to a narrow, fast-flowing stream about a hundred paces away, she began to walk towards it. "After that, the Queen mentioned a railway in the Third Square, that will take us to the Fourth Square."

"Sounds good to me." Mickey remarked. "Let's go."

As they began walking towards the brook, Alice strolled next to Kairi, and soon enough, the two of them were chatting like old friends. Sora, however, couldn't help but glance worriedly over at Riku, who had stuffed his hands in his pockets and was scowling at the ground in front of them as he walked. Hesitantly, he made his way over to the silver-haired teen, nudging his arm gently.

"You okay?"

Riku sighed a little. "Yeah, mostly." He replied. "Just feeling like the odd one out again. Practically everyone we've run into has been afraid of me, for one reason or another."

Sora winced. That wasn't much of an exaggeration. "Only at first, until they got to know you better." He said, hoping to cheer him up a little. "And what about Atlantica? Ariel thought you were great." A tiny grin tugged at his lips. "And I think Melody might've had a bit of a crush on you."

Riku did smirk at that, just the slightest bit. "You noticed?" He asked, amused.

"Hey!" Sora scowled, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm not _that_ oblivious!"

The silver-haired teen gave a small grin. "If you insist." He replied, ruffling Sora's chestnut spikes. "Thanks."

Any discontent the younger teen was feeling immediately evaporated. He grinned again. "Well, we can't have you being Mister Doom-and-Gloom, can we?" He teased. "You'll scare _everyone_ like that."

At that, Riku made a small noise of amusement, as the eight of them walked up to the thin, fast-flowing brook. The water gurgled merrily as it sped past, though the banks were only a good four feet apart.

"So, this is the river we're supposed to cross to get into the next square?" Roxas asked. Alice beamed at him.

"Yes, and then we'll take the train to the Fourth Square!" She bounced excitedly. "Let's go and find that train station!"

The blonde girl walked back a few steps and ran for the riverbank, holding onto the front of her skirts as if to make sure she wouldn't trip. Then, with a great "Oo-oo-ooh!" she jumped, landing safely on the other side. One by one, the travellers followed her.

When he landed, Sora was surprised to hear not the soft sound of landing on grass and dirt, but a sharp 'thunk', like there was stone beneath his feet. And when he opened his eyes, he realized that was because he _had_ landed on stone. The train station had magically appeared in front of them, although it hadn't been there a moment ago.

The whistle blew, warning everyone that the train was about to leave. Quickly, Roxas looked around. "There!" He called, pointing to a figure leaning out of the engine cabin. He was handing out tickets to people who were getting on the train. Goofy ambled up to the window.

"Um," He took a moment to count on his fingers. "Eight tickets, please."

The man in the window looked at him in incredulous shock. "Don't waste my time, young man! There's only one of you! You don't need eight tickets!"

From the train car came several voices. "Oh, no, don't waste the engine-driver's time! It's worth a thousand munny a minute!"

"I hope that doesn't mean we have to pay him." Roxas muttered under his breath. They didn't have enough munny for that.

"But I'm gettin' tickets for my friends." Goofy pointed over towards the group of them. The engine-driver snorted.

"They have to come get tickets themselves. Now hurry up! The train is waiting!"

The people in the car spoke again. "Why, the smoke alone is worth a thousand munny a puff!"

Kairi leaned close to whisper in Sora's ear. "That's a pretty expensive train." She murmured. He nodded with a chuckle.

"Doesn't make sense to me that Goofy can't save time by getting all our tickets at once." He replied, walking forward to take his ticket from the man. He was startled, then, when the driver handed him a strip of paper a good three feet long.

"Now, find your seat, young man, before we take off."

Curiously, he peeked in the door of the train. Every compartment he could see was full, although with the weirdest passengers he'd ever seen. Animals, people, insects; it didn't seem to matter. And walking down the train between them all was a little unnerving.

After some time, he came to a compartment in the middle of the train that was completely empty. Turning, he glanced back to see whoever was behind him – Alice, he realized – then motioned for her to follow him in.

Even with an empty compartment, Goofy still had to sit on the floor to fit them all, although he didn't mind that so much. Alice sat down next to the window on one side, looking out with fascinated blue eyes. Kairi joined her, as did Donald and King Mickey.

"This is such a nice trip." The blonde girl declared. "No mean Queen of Hearts, no Heartless. Just a nice visit to the Looking-Glass World."

Goofy looked up at her in surprise. "What d'you mean, Alice? You don't _live_ in Wonderland?"

"Oh, no." Alice shook her head. "I just visit sometimes, like our summer home in Wales. I live in a charming little house in Oxford."

"Then how do you get here? By Gummi?" Donald asked.

She blinked at the white duck. "Gummi?"

"Never mind." Sora cut them off, rather hastily. "So, is this just a part of...Oxford, then?"

"I suppose so." The young girl shrugged, looking out the window again. "But my sister says Wonderland is all in my head. She says I have a 'lovely, vivid imagination', and that's where Wonderland is." Folding her arms rather stubbornly, she then looked around the compartment, her bright blue gaze finally coming to rest on Riku. "You're not just all in my head, are you?"

Riku arched a brow at her. "Do I _look_ like the kind of person you would just make up?" He inquired coolly. Alice looked thoughtful for a moment.

"No, I guess not."

Sora chuckled. "I don't think _anyone_ could just 'make you up', Riku." He teased. The silver-haired teen couldn't help smirking at that.

"Nice of you to say so, Sora."

Suddenly, a noise like a shriek reached them, at the same time the floor of the train jumped beneath their feet. When it settled again, Sora darted over to the door of the compartment and looked out as if to see what had happened. A voice reached his ears from another room, "Oh, we've just had to jump over a brook, is all."

"Guys, I think we're in the Fourth Squa-." He turned around, then jumped in surprise when he realized he was, inexplicably, no longer on a train. "Whoa! Guys?!"

"We're here!" Kairi's voice called from under a nearby tree. Ducking beneath the branches, Sora found everyone sitting beneath the tree, looking rather startled at the abrupt change of scenery. With a chuckle, he sat down too.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this place." Roxas muttered, looking around. Just beside the tree they sat beneath was another small, fast-flowing brook, obviously the border of the Fourth Square.

"Does anyone ever get used to their place?" A voice inquired from above. Everyone looked up in surprise to see a pink and purple striped cat that appeared to be hanging by its tail, grinning a large grin. "Everyone is to fit into their places in their worlds, but it's not always a perfect fit. Wouldn't you say so, Wielder of Nothingness?" The animal's glowing eyes pinned Roxas as he said this, swinging back and forth like a pendulum.

The blond's eyes narrowed. "What did you call me?"

"Nothing!" The cat grinned again as it swung itself around the branch, letting go and doing a perfect little flip before landing on...its own head. "And what about you, dark one?" This time, the animal's head rolled around Riku as its feet moved to keep it standing, like a circus clown on a ball. "Square peg in a round hole, hmm? Or perhaps the square peg is _inside_ you, keeping you from fitting right into your little space."

Turquoise eyes flashed. "You know, you weren't nearly so annoying the last time I was here." The silver-haired teen remarked, voice cold.

The Cheshire Cat flipped again, only this time its entire body disappeared, leaving the eyes and the eerie smile hanging in the air. "Perhaps that was because you didn't know what the truth was before, hmm? Or maybe you knew it better then?"

"Are you here specifically to confuse us, or is that just for fun?" Sora asked. The floating smile turned his way, and with a puff of smoke, the cat body returned, curled up in the middle of their little circle like an ordinary housecat. The face bounced over until it reattached itself to the cat's head.

"I'm here to point your way, but watching you muddle there is half the fun." The striped feline began to fade away, pieces at a time. "Keep ahold of your names as you pass through the forest. It might be difficult to get them back if you don't."

And, with a final chuckle, it vanished completely, its eyes the last things to be seen before they winked themselves out.

"What forest is he talking about?" Kairi asked, her voice hushed with awe.

Goofy looked slightly troubled as well. "And what does he mean by keepin' ahold of our names?"

"Welp, I think the forest he meant is that one, over there." Mickey pointed to a thick stand of trees opposite the river, across an open field from where they sat. "As to what he meant by our names, I'm not sure, but I suspect we'll find out."

With a grin, Sora stood, pulling his Keyblade out and resting it on his shoulders. "C'mon, guys!" He coaxed them all. "We're halfway to the Eighth Square, and _I'm_ sure, even if nobody else is, that we can take on whatever is ahead! Right?"

"Yeah!" Donald raised his wand into the air as he squawked his support. "Let's get goin'!"

Everyone was quiet as they all walked across the field that stretched between the border and the forest, watching the shadows warily. It was as if everyone was holding their breath in anticipation of what was to come. The woods before them were dark and unfriendly-looking, which of course added to everyone's unease.

Once they were all under the trees, though, the shade was soothing. The day had become rather hot, and it was a nice change from the sun beating down on their heads.

"It isn't so bad in here after all." The spiky-haired Keybearer glanced around. He turned to their blonde companion, who looked back at him with her big blue eyes. "You probably want to hurry, though, don't you?"

The little blonde girl nodded. "Yes. I do so want to get to the eighth- the...the eighth..." She gave a bit of a frustrated noise, her brow furrowing. "I do know what I was meaning to say a moment ago."

"I think I know what you're saying. Don't worry." The brunet sent her his carefree grin. "I know how it feels to lose what you were trying to say, too."

Suddenly, black shadows sprang up around them, yellow eyes glinting. The teen with the spiked brown hair pulled out his weapon in a flash of light. "Quick, get behind us." He called to the blonde girl. Her eyes widened in fright as she did so, pulling away from the ring of dark creatures surrounding them.

The tiny mouse king leapt up, using the side of a tree trunk for leverage as he struck at a pair of shadows. He followed his strikes with a ball of energy that dissolved the dark beings into nothing.

The brunet teen spun once, taking out three dark forms and knocking a fourth toward the blond, who destroyed it in a hit or two. The redheaded girl swiftly cast spells on her friends to keep them from harm as magical bolts of energy leapt from the silver-haired one's fingertips. The seven of them wove among each other, holding off the shadows with ease.

Finally, all the dark forms had vanished, the woods brightening somewhat in their absence. The teenagers all looked around as if expecting more, but when none came, they all sat down to rest.

"Okay. So this is the wood where we're supposed to keep ahold of our names, right?" The blond one inquired. "Isn't that what _he_ said?"

"To be honest, I think they might've vanished while we weren't payin' attention." The mouse king admitted. "Can anyone remember their names?"

There was silence for some time as everyone mused over that. The first one to speak was the blonde girl.

"Do you know, I can't recall _any_ of our names." She declared. "What a dreadful muddle."

"Maybe if we move out of the wood we might be able to." The dog-soldier drawled. Sitting beside him, the white duck nodded.

"Yeah, let's go! This place gives me the creeps anyway."

After a few moments, they all stood again, heading out the way they'd been going before being interrupted by the shadows. When they stepped out into the sunlight again, everyone looked at each other, amazed.

"Well, _that_ was kinda scary." Sora murmured, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Let's not lose our names again, huh?"

"I sort of like my name. I'd kinda hate having another one." Kairi admitted. Riku couldn't help smirking at her.

"But if it was the only name you knew, you wouldn't miss your old one." He pointed out, earning himself a raspberry from her.

"Oh, hush." She ordered. Alice touched her arm.

"I would be quite sad to lose my name too. I'm rather glad they got back to us all right."

Roxas huffed lightly. "Next time we see that cat, I'm skinning it."

"Only if you can catch me, Wielder of Nothingness."

Roxas' hands flew up into the air to snatch the cat that was currently sitting on his head, but the striped feline suddenly became insubstantial, and the blond's hands passed right through him.

"That's the second time you've called Roxas that." Sora realized aloud, momentarily distracted from his ex-Nobody's irate cursing. "What's it mean?"

"You'll find out, Light-wielder." The Cheshire Cat disappeared in a poof of purple smoke again, although this time he didn't reappear. It seemed he'd fled just in time, because in the next moment, a ferocious wind kicked up, ripping several leaves from the trees as the sky darkened around them. The blowing debris blinded everyone, so that at first no one could tell what exactly had made such a terrific gale, but a moment later a deafening cawing noise gave them all a good idea.

The wind died down suddenly, and when they looked up, they saw a monstrous black bird standing in the centre of the field, its sharp-looking beak snapping in challenge. With a tiny, frightened 'oh!', Alice ducked behind Sora, eyes wide as she stared at the giant crow.

"That's not a chess piece!" She cried, managing to sound indignant even in her fright. "How will we get past it?!"

Sora sent her a cheerful grin. "It's okay, Alice. We'll be fine."

Goofy had begun sneaking past it, but the moment the crow noticed, it whirled around and snapped at the dog-soldier, startling a yelp from him as he tumbled backwards to avoid the giant beak. In retaliation, Donald zapped the huge bird with Thundaga.

With an indignant 'caw', the big black bird flapped its wings once, stirring up a whirlwind. It not only blinded everyone again, but actually managed to blow King Mickey off his feet, the tiny mouse king tumbling backwards until he succeeded in hooking the end of Darkside onto a rock. If anyone had been looking, the sight of the minute royal blowing in the wind like a banner might've been amusing, but everyone else was distracted by their winged assailant.

Goofy threw his shield, catching the giant bird just below its wing. It let out a squawk of pain, whipping out that wing to strike at the dog-soldier. At the same time, a bright flash of light flew from the end of Kairi's Keyblade, striking the crow in the face. It began to wave its wings madly, shaking the ground as it blindly stomped around. Sora glanced at her in surprise.

"Flash." She replied simply. On her other side, Riku took advantage of the giant bird's blindness and ran forward, expertly dodging the huge talons as he struck. One wing swooped down and knocked him back, momentarily stunning him. In retaliation, Sora cast several Thundaga and Blizzaga spells on that wing. Donald did the same to the other one.

Having finally regained his footing again, Mickey leapt forward, striking at the bird's chest with Darkside. With a final cry of pain, it took to the skies again, flying away.

Quickly, Sora hurried forward and knelt down next to Riku, who had pressed one hand to his head and was shaking it as if to clear it. "You okay?" He asked softly.

Riku nodded after a moment. "Yeah." His lips twisted into a scowl. "I need to learn to pay attention again." With a soft sigh, he pulled himself to his feet. "We should get going. It might be back soon."

As it turned out, they could only go so far before they had to stop. Everyone gave various expressions of dismay when they came to the edge of a large lake, bordered by marshy, swampy banks and nearly choked with weeds and rushes.

"Huh." Sora rubbed the back of his head, brows furrowed in a rather puzzled manner. "Well, that's a problem."

"There must be some way across!" Alice declared. "After coming all this way, we can't give up now!"

Mickey nodded. "She's right. C'mon, everyone. Let's go lookin'. I'm sure we'll find somethin'."

So they began to hunt.

Alert blue eyes focused on the waterline, Roxas walked along the shore. The reeds made it difficult to see much, but where they were overly thick, he leaned out and pushed away a layer or two until he could see. A wooden object caught his eye in the mess to his right, and he reached out to grab it. "Hey, guys!" He called. "I found a boat!"

Sora lifted his head, about twenty feet away. "Did you?" He asked, flashing a smile. "Good job, Roxas!" Quickly, he detangled himself from the weeds and hurried over, helping the blond drag the old rowboat out of the water. A collection of oars rested in the bottom.

"That's great. We don't even need to figure out how to get ourselves moving." The brunet teen reached out, grabbing an oar and waving it over his head. "Hey, guys!" He shouted. "Roxas found a boat!"

First to appear out of the reeds was Riku, who noticed the two boys were struggling to drag the boat over the grass and hurried over to help. With his added strength, they soon managed to push the small boat into the water at a clear patch of the shoreline.

"You guys found a boat?" They turned to see Kairi emerge from the grass, followed closely by Alice. The blonde girl had Mickey sitting on her shoulders, and Donald and Goofy trailed behind her as if they'd been watching out for Mickey.

Sora grinned. "Yep. Roxas did. We've even got oars, see?" He held out the one he'd snatched with a grin. "So all we need to do is get in and start rowing!"

The two boys held the boat steady as Alice, Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Kairi got in. Sora then nodded to Roxas, who carefully got aboard. Riku stepped forward to help, the two of them helping to push off before hopping into the boat.

Once they were off, Sora tugged two of the oars out of the bottom and slid them into the water. He grinned around at everyone. "Anyone wanna help me row?"

Alice took an oar to match the one Kairi had. It took them a little while to time their rhythms right, so for a little while, the boat wiggled over the water like a restless child. But soon enough, they straightened things out again, and the tiny vessel sailed gaily across the water.

Carefully stepping around the boat, Mickey went up to the bow, closing his eyes as the gentle breeze blew in his face. He'd always liked that feeling.

"Your Majesty, please be careful!" Donald fretted. Mickey grinned at him.

"Aww, Donald. Don't worry about me." He replied with a wink. "I'm watchin', and even if I wasn't, I can swim just fine if somethin' happens."

Soon enough, Alice gave a gasp of delight. "Oh, look at those!" She cried, pointing. Near the boat's edge, bright white lilies floated on the water, reflected in the surface. "Aren't they pretty, Kairi? I wish I could reach them." Setting her paddle down in the bottom of the boat, she stretched her arm as far as it would go, reaching for a flower.

Sensing the danger in that, Riku shifted his weight back against the opposite side of the boat, balancing out the blonde's reaching. "Careful." He muttered, making sure he was loud enough for her to hear. "We don't want to tip over."

This comment startled Alice momentarily, but after a second she saw the sense in it and sat back down, picking up her oar again. "I suppose you're right." She admitted, her bottom lip forced out in a slight pout. Kairi giggled, matching the younger girl's rowing pace again.

"It's okay, Alice. I think they're pretty too."

Sora grinned her way as well. "You'll probably find other flowers before you become a Queen, anyway."

"And with our luck, those ones probably talked too." Roxas couldn't help adding, obviously still a little bothered by the talking-to he'd gotten from the giant petunia earlier. "So it's probably a good thing you couldn't reach them."

With that in mind, Alice shrugged and smiled, before turning her attention back to the rowing.

* * *

Yes, there is more. Yes, it is coming. No, I'm not entirely sure when, but no, it will not take months. Alice has a couple of squares to go left before she becomes a Queen, and then we're off to Beast's Castle! **_Any suggestions for storylines at Beast's Castle would be appreciated._** That's one of those few places I just HAD to add in, but I couldn't really find inspiration for a new story for. So I'm asking if I can draw on the collective creativity of my lovely reviewers. Don't feel pressured to suggest something, though.

Love you guys!

Ivy J.


	18. Chapter 18

Hello, all! :D It's Ivy J. again, here with another chapter! Yay! :dances:

I've actually got a half-beta, now, so I might not look over my chapters later and go "Why did I write THAT? o.o;" She took a look at the last little bit of Wonderland, so I'm just hoping the rest of the chapter doesn't, like, nosedive. That would be bad.

Rose93darkness: It was supposed to be perverted, lol. It's _Axel._ And I contemplated going the "Enchanted Christmas" route, but as much as I liked Fife and Forte, the rest of the movie just _didn't_ work. And I really wanted to see the Beast human again :whistles the song: and he and Belle mostly living happily ever after. Mostly. If there wasn't something wrong, there wouldn't be a Beast's Castle chapter. I don't want another Chateau Vitrearii. That chapter was so pointless. :spaz:

aniuwolfe: Well, you'll be happy to hear that I'm mostly concentrating on Soriku anyway. They seem to be my main pairing of this fandom, lol. And I was actually a little unsure with the Cheshire Cat...Alice in Wonderland was never my favourite Disney movie. I think I watched it all the way through, like, once. So I really just played him by ear. Nice to know you liked him :D

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: I actually didn't even think about an "Eat me!" or a "Drink me!". Now that I look back on it, it might have been amusing. XD

LoquitorLatinae: Salve! :heart: I was kinda stunned to see your review, lol. I didn't expect you to review! Not that I mind, of course. It was just...a surprise. A really nice surprise. It does sometimes take an effort to stay on track, but I have all sorts of other stuff I work on when I'm in an AU/smut/fluffy/etc. mood. Which is partly why these chapters come so slowly XD. The boys are gonna take some time to discover that they're secretly hot for each other. They're kinda distracted by this big huge epic quest they're working on, plus righting the wrongs of everyone they meet XD But it will happen, and there will be cuteness! I promise you all!

FrostFromFire: I tend to do that too, lol, so don't feel bad. Nice to see a new reviewer :) Thank you for the compliments, and I hope you stay tuned!

RyouSeiryuu: I don't know how that happens. Truthfully. XD It just does. On Riku and the Beast...there's definitely going to be some tension there, although Sora would prefer it were resolved without it having to come to blows, so I don't think that particularly will happen. But we'll just have to see, won't we? :D

LordxxAxelxxLover: An Epic Win?! Boy, do I feel loved, lol. Yeah, Riku's not too pleased with the fact that everyone's afraid of him, but then again, I'm not entirely sure what else he expected, lol. I think part of the reason we made this journey with Sora in the first place was to kinda lay the demons of his past to rest. So it's possible he expected it, but he's just irritated as to how right he actually was, lol.

We're almost to 100 reviews, guys! O.O I'm very, very excited, lol. When it happens, I might just post something special! :D :incentive!: Feel free to suggest stuff :)

* * *

The boat soon nudged the far bank, and they all piled out onto the shore. Yet another forest lay ahead, although this one didn't look nearly so foreboding as the one where they had lost their names. But perhaps its harmless appearance should have tipped them off, for the moment they set foot inside, a terrific crash shook the trees. Moments later, a crowd of soldiers –some on horses, some on foot – came flying through the forest, headed their way. Everyone lifted their weapons in alarm, only to be met with confusion when the armed men rushed straight past them, giving the lake a wide berth as they did so.

"Where are they going?" Kairi asked in a hushed voice, blue eyes wide. Roxas shrugged.

"No idea." He replied. "It's probably just another completely nonsensical thing in this _completely nonsensical_ place."

"Hey, look!" Donald cried suddenly, pointing ahead. They all followed the gesture, peering through the forest at the curious sight before them.

Through the trees, there were flashes of bright white and deep golden brown. As they approached and the brush thinned, they saw that two creatures fought on the bricked surface of the clearing, surrounded by spectators. One was a snow-white unicorn, with an iridescent tail and mane, and a silver horn and hooves. With a furious shriek, it reared back and slammed its front hooves into the shoulders of a majestic golden lion, sending it sprawling.

"Oh!" Alice cried happily. "The Lion and the Unicorn! We're in the Sixth Square!"

Mickey chuckled. "We're almost there, then."

With a half-grin, Sora glanced at Kairi, who stood watching the mythical horned horse. "D'you guys want to stop and watch for a little while?" He asked her. The redhead exchanged glances with Alice, who looked rather torn.

"Perhaps not." She decided after a moment. "We're only two squares away, and I'm sure you all have other places you'd like to get to."

"Why are they fighting anyway, Alice?" Donald asked. The blonde beamed at him.

"Oh, it's an old song they teach children." She replied. "'Fighting for the crown', the story goes, although what crown, I'm not certain."

The eight of them neared the border of the Seventh Square, watching the fight all the while. Suddenly, without warning, the Unicorn, who had been facing away from them, bounded backward, very nearly plowing straight into Sora. The brunet Keybearer jumped away in alarm, but slipped off the bank and tumbled back into the water with a yelp. Then he began to laugh, though the water was freezing cold and moving fast enough that it sliced right through his clothes to his skin.

Obviously not noticing this, the Unicorn gave a final whinny of pain and dropped to its knees. The Lion roared over it triumphantly, advancing on its fallen foe. A cry of alarm leapt from Kairi, but there was no reason to worry, because the Lion butted heads with the Unicorn affectionately before walking away, retreating to the far edge of the square. The Unicorn then struggled to its feet and moved off to have its wounds tended.

Leaning out over the edge of the water, Kairi braced herself before extending a hand to Sora, who took it and pulled himself out of the water. With a last laugh, he shook himself.

"Well. That was exciting."

"You should dry off, Sora. You might catch cold." Alice worried. He flashed her a thumbs-up, though he was shivering.

"Nah, I'll be okay." He grinned. "But just in case, can we keep moving?"

"What's that noise?" Riku suddenly asked aloud. Everyone quieted for a moment to listen.

A low throbbing drumbeat had begun, faint and far away. But after a few moments, it was joined by several others at varying tempos and pitches until it rose to a deafening volume. When the sounds reached their ears, the Lion and the Unicorn got up from their places across the square from each other and ran off, disappearing into the woods. The crowd that followed along behind the two creatures, each carrying some sort of improvised drum, pushed all the way to the edge of the brook, forcing the Keybearers and their companions into the next Square.

Curiously enough, the sounds of the drums stopped the instant they reached the bank of the Seventh Square, like the pounding was coming from a radio program that had suddenly been switched off. When Roxas turned to look back in surprise, he saw that the Sixth Square was suddenly filled with nothing but forest; no town, no drummers, no Lion or Unicorn.

"Man, this place is _weird_." He grumbled aloud. "No wonder Axel reacted the way he did when we mentioned Wonderland."

Sora laughed. "Yeah." He agreed. "Of all the places I've ever been, Wonderland will always be the most random. It could be worse." He added, thinking. "Last time I was here, the gravity kept going all weird."

"Where do you go when you're not here in Wonderland, Sora?" Alice asked. "Back to that Hollow Bastion place?"

He smiled at her. "Sometimes. But usually all over the place, helping worlds against the Heartless. And the Nobodies," here he glanced at Roxas with another grin, "when they become a problem."

The blonde girl then turned her attention to Riku, almost hesitantly. "And so now you travel around with him?"

Riku couldn't help arching a brow her way. "I thought you were afraid of me." He commented. Alice scowled at him.

"I _thought_, perhaps, that I had misjudged you." She replied, rather huffily. "But if you insist on being _rude_, then maybe I shouldn't speak to you!"

"Wait, guys, calm down!" Sora began, jumping immediately into peacekeeper mode. Kairi, too, looked about to speak, when suddenly the brush deeper into the Square rustled, revealing a knight on horseback all dressed in white and silver.

"Ahoy! Ahoy! Do I hear a damsel in distress?"

Alice was so surprised by this that at first she couldn't speak. "I...no, thank you." She replied. "I'm not a damsel in distress."

"Oh." The knight looked rather disappointed. "You are a White Pawn, though, aren't you?"

The others glanced at Alice in surprise. She flushed lightly. "Well, yes, I am. Or, at least, the Red Queen said I could be."

The White Knight lit up again. "Wonderful. Then I'll escort you and your companions," here he nodded everyone else, "to the border of the Eighth Square. With me around, none of the Red pieces will bother you."

Alice grinned at Kairi, who grinned back. "Almost there, Alice!" The redhead exclaimed. "Are you excited?"

"I _do_ like the idea of being a Queen!" Alice bounced impatiently on her heels. "Let's go!"

Shaking his head at the girls, Sora glanced up at the Knight. "Thanks for the escort."

The Knight smiled at him. "It's my pleasure."

The pace was brisk after that. The Knight on his horse trotted alongside them, alternating between guiding them along the path and offering rides to Kairi, King Mickey, and Alice in turn. The tiny mouse wasn't entirely fond of horses, due to the fact that he was about the size of the average saddle, and Kairi preferred to walk, so the White Knight ended up with Alice sitting sidesaddle in front of him.

"So, Alice, what'll happen when you become a Queen?" Goofy asked. She blinked at him.

"I'm not certain, really. Perhaps I'll make laws about children, and playing pretend, and daydreams!" She began to look distant as she mused on all the things she could do as a Queen. "And I'll wear fancy dresses all day and eat whatever I wish and I won't have to do stuffy lessons!"

Riku shook his head. It was obvious how little she knew about ruling anything. Although he realized after a moment that the idea really shouldn't have surprised him in the least. She'd never seemed much older than ten to him. Maybe twelve.

A nudge to his side made him blink and look up. Sora was giving him an inquiring look.

"I just can't believe how little she's thought about this." He muttered in response. "She obviously has no idea what she's getting herself into."

Sora nudged him again, slightly harder this time. "Don't be mean." He requested. Riku shot him a 'look'.

"Why do you think I haven't _said_ anything? I don't need her snapping at me again."

"Oh, look!" Alice suddenly cried, pointing ahead. Everyone looked up at her in surprise, then turned to see what she was pointing at.

Before them was a white castle, quite possibly the same one that crowned the image of Wonderland on the Navi-Gummi. Just across the brook that marked the boundary between the Seventh and Eighth Squares, it rose from the ground, white and sparkling like Cinderella's castle on Chateau Vitrearii. Stretched out over the main entrance was a bright blue banner on which was written the words "Welcome, Queen Alice!"

"Here, I must leave you, Alice." The Knight said, reining his horse in. With a nod of thanks, the young girl slipped from the saddle.

"Thank you, White Knight." She smiled, waving her handkerchief as he turned and galloped off towards their right. When he disappeared from sight, she turned to everyone else. "Come, let's go into the Eighth Square!"

By now, everyone was rather eager to see what was ahead, so they crossed the brook without comment. The moment they did so, however, Alice suddenly gave a loud squeak of surprise. When the others turned to see what had happened, they saw that Alice had fallen back on the ground. On her head, there sat a large, ornate silver crown, set with diamonds and sapphires to match the young girl's dress. She blinked, startled, and raised her hands to her very heavy hat. "What's this?" She wondered aloud, lifting it off and setting it in her lap. "Oh, my goodness!"

"It's your crown, Alice!" Sora grinned at her. "Queens need crowns, don't they?"

"Oh, Sora, thank you so much for getting me here!" She cried, setting her crown back on her head and scrambling to her feet to hug him. "Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, Roxas, and Kairi! Thank you all!" She very nearly rushed at Riku, too, but caught herself, and instead hesitated before holding a hand out to him. "And thank you too, I suppose. You certainly did help, just as much as everyone else did."

The comment made him arch a single silver brow. "So, you're _not_ afraid of me?" He inquired. With a sigh, she shook her head.

"It would be silly, after all this."

It took a moment, but he took her outstretched hand and shook it. "Nice of you to-" He began, but a sudden jumble of noise interrupted him, pouring with a crowd out of the castle's front gate.

Before anyone could react, they were all hoisted onto the shoulders of those who had come from the castle, strange animal-people and somehow funny-looking humans. The carriers sang loudly (and somewhat tunelessly) as they ferried their passengers into the castle:

"To the Looking-Glass World, t'was Alice that said,

'I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head!

Let the Looking-Glass Creatures, whatever they be,

Come dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me!'"

Just inside the hall, they were dropped rather unceremoniously before a horseshoe of banquet tables. It was difficult to see what was on the tables, but the Red and White Queens sat in the middle of the centre one with a spot between them, and then spread out to either side seemed to be dozens more.

At the sight of Alice, the White Queen squealed and got up, running forward with an armful of packages wrapped in brightly coloured and shining papers with astonishingly elaborate ribbon bows. She dropped them at Alice's feet and then ran back, taking her place again with a grin. Alice blinked, surprised.

"Are these for me?"

"No questions!" The Red Queen snapped, bringing forward another pile. When she sat down, the White Queen rose again. After about two more piles, Alice was nearly buried.

"And, finally-" The last present was carried forward by the both of them and set precariously on top of the young girl's head, supported by the crown. It sat there for a moment, golden paper sparkling, and the Queens stood back to admire their handiwork before they sat back down again. "All right, open them now!"

Carefully, so as not to send the gift sitting atop her head flying, Alice turned. "Could you perhaps help me?" She implored. Sora reached out with a grin to grab the last package.

The moment he took it off her head and stepped back with it, the parcel began to shine with a bright light. He nearly dropped the box in surprise.

"It's a key!" Roxas called, when his Keyblade appeared in his hand and began to glow in tandem with the present. It took a moment for his words to register, but when they did, Sora grinned broadly.

"Yes! That's our third one!"

The lights traced the key shape in the gift wrap and then flashed brightly. When everyone could see again, they saw that the top of the package had popped open, the ribbon hanging off Sora's hands and the paper ripped as if an impatient child had torn it open. Above it hovered their third key.

Walking forward, Roxas plucked it out of the air. It was barely warm, and dotted with overlapping multicoloured spots. A shape caught his eye, and he glanced up to see the Cheshire Cat wink at him before it faded away into nothing. He shook his head. "Crazy cat."

Sora would've laughed, but he was somewhat preoccupied. Though he hadn't noticed it before, there had been some sort of background energy the whole time they'd been here, like the thrumming of an engine that had been going for so long you didn't hear it anymore. But when Roxas had grabbed the key, that thrumming had suddenly disappeared. He'd noticed the abrupt _lack_ of it more than anything else. Could that energy have been coming from the key itself? If so, then why hadn't he felt it on Jamestown? They'd left Atlantica too quickly to take notice of something that subtle.

He shook his head. _'Keep it in mind. Maybe it'll happen again.'_ With another smile, he half-saluted Alice's way. "I guess that means we're not needed here anymore, right, Alice? Unless you want us to help you unwrap all those other presents."

She giggled. "If you need to go, I think I can manage it." She admitted. "Unwrapping presents is the best part of getting them!"

"Let's toast Queen Alice!" The Red Queen cried, holding up a goblet. Though no one else in the room could actually be seen, voices all around shouted, "To Queen Alice!" in unison.

"To Queen Alice!"

* * *

It was a welcome relief to get back to the Gummi Ship, where reality mostly went back to normal. Sora immediately volunteered to take a shift in the cockpit so that everyone else could get a rest. Kairi couldn't help watching from the doorway; it was surprising how well Sora knew his way around the Navi-Gummi practically without looking.

A tap on her shoulder made her turn. Roxas stood there, with the latest Key in his hand; after some figuring, they decided it was probably the Entropy Key. King Mickey had had to look the word up in the Gummi Ship's computer, and they'd discovered it meant 'randomness'. In the other hand, he held his Keyblade. "Hey." He greeted. "Want to see what I just found out?"

Kairi smiled. "Sure. Should we show Sora, too?"

"Show me what?"

They looked up and saw that Sora had turned the chair around and was sitting forward, looking rather curious. Roxas held up the Entropy Key in reply. "I found that these aren't just keys." He replied, walking forward. Sora canted his head, intrigued.

"What else are they?"

The blond grinned. "Keychains."

To Sora's surprise, Roxas somehow hooked the Entropy Key onto the hook on his Keyblade, and the weapon began to writhe in his hand. The handle molded itself into a swirl of colour around a black grip, and like no other Keyblade the brunet had ever seen, the blade shifted subtly as it was moved, although it still kept to the traditional key shape.

"Wow." He blinked and glanced up at Kairi, impressed. "Can you do that too, with the Earth Key?"

With a delicate shrug, she pulled her Keyblade out, digging into her pocket for the Earth Key. "Let's try it."

The Earth Key turned her weapon into a tree branch, with leaves making up the blade part at the end of the shaft. Setting the autopilot with a few quick keystrokes, Sora stood, holding out a hand. "Can I see?"

He only had a moment or two to admire the weapon before it jumped back into Kairi's hands, something that made her gasp in surprise. "Can you do that?" She asked in wonder. Sora grinned.

"It's something all the Keybearers I've met have been able to do." He shrugged. "I actually think the Keyblades themselves might help in doing it." After a moment, he glanced at Roxas again. "Did you show King Mickey? I think he'd think it was just as cool."

Roxas nodded. "He and Riku were watching when I found it out." Walking over, he leaned over to look at the Navi-Gummi. "So, where are we going?" He asked. Sora grinned at him.

"I figure we're all kinda sick of the unknown for now, so we're headed for Beast's Castle. Donald, Goofy and I have been there before, so we mostly know what to expect. It's not as random as Wonderland was, I promise."

Kairi blinked. "'Beast's Castle'? Do you mean the Beast that we met at Radiant Garden? And Belle?"

"Yeah. We'll-" Suddenly, Sora's cheerful expression dimmed. "We'll go visit and check if there's a key there. Maybe you and Belle can bond, like you've been doing with _everyone_ else we've been meeting, Kairi." With a quick glance to check the autopilot again, he walked back towards the sleeping area. "Give me a sec, I'm gonna go tell Riku and King Mickey where we're headed."

He knew he probably worried Kairi and Roxas with the way he suddenly left, but he needed to talk to Riku. He'd completely forgotten that Riku had met the Beast before...and that their meeting had _not_ been friendly.

Both Riku and the King looked up at him in surprise when he walked into the room. The King sat at the desk against one wall, writing what looked like a letter to Queen Minnie. In comparison, Riku lay on their bed, flipping through the journal again. An impulsive grin blossomed on Sora's face when he saw that.

"I think I'm going to have to have a copy of that made for you so _I_ can look at it every once in a while." He commented. Riku's lips twitched.

"Maybe." He admitted. After a moment, he nodded towards the cockpit. "Aren't you supposed to be driving?"

"Autopilots are good for that. Besides, Kairi and Roxas are in there right now, and they both know how to pilot okay." The brunet Keybearer shrugged, walking over to sit down beside Riku. "I actually came to talk to you."

Riku arched a brow at him. "Oh?"

"I thought maybe it would be better to go somewhere where Donald and Goofy and I have already been, so that we're not unprepared." Sora began. "After Wonderland, it's just easier to go someplace where things don't mysteriously appear and disappear like magic."

"So what are you talking to me for?" The silver-haired teen asked, somewhat suspiciously. The brunet winced.

"I just wanted to let you know...that means we'll be stopping by Beast's Castle. With the Beast, and Belle."

Riku shook his head, a rueful smile touching his lips. "And you came in here to let me know so I could prepare?"

"Well, you know...I remember the first time you met the Beast, it wasn't really pretty." The younger Keybearer looked down at his hands. "He might not be happy to see you."

"Thanks for the warning." A hand gently mussed his hair, making Sora look up again in surprise. Contrary to what he thought might happen, Riku looked amused and rather grateful. "It's nice to know you worried, Sora, but I can-"

"Take care of yourself. I know, I know." Sora waved that off. "I just...I wanted to let you know that we don't have to go right now. We can check out the other new places before we go to Beast's Castle if you want."

"What's the point?" Riku shrugged. "I'll probably run into someone else who's afraid of me anyway. At least this way, I know who I'm dealing with." He ruffled Sora's hair again. "But thanks for the offer."

Sora smiled. "You're welcome."

* * *

"You know, I should be used to this." The Keyblade Master commented idly, looking around at the unfamiliar village they had touched down in. "We should really be used to strange places on familiar worlds by now."

"_Should._" Roxas repeated, somewhat sarcastically, as he stepped over a pile of firewood stacked against a wall. "Which is why we're _not_ yet."

Curiously, the brunet walked over to the mouth of the alley, peeking out at the busy streets. A tall fountain stood at the centre of the square, where several women chatted in oddly-accented voices over laundry. A portly man in a white chef's hat and apron walked across the stones, a tray of baked goods in his hands. As Sora watched, the baker was waved over by a young woman, who exchanged several loaves for a handful of munny.

Stepping out of the alley, Sora very nearly tripped over a madly-clucking chicken, being chased by a small girl in a red-brown dress and a white bonnet and apron. With a soft "Pardonnez-moi, monsieur," she continued after the fleeing bird. Somewhat confused, Sora blinked at her.

"What'd she say?" Riku inquired curiously. Sora shook his head.

"I have no idea."

Shaking his head, he walked over to one of the women at the fountain. "Excuse me, but do you know a girl named Belle?" He asked her. "We came to visit, but we must've gotten lost on our way here. Do you know where we could find her?"

The woman was thin and blonde, wearing a green dress that was probably splendid at one point in time, but had faded and started to fall apart. She sniffed haughtily.

"Belle? You mean, the crazy inventor's daughter? Mademoiselle 'I know better than you all'?" She scoffed. "La folle, she lives at le chateau with her prince 'La Bête'."

The blending of the two languages only succeeded in confusing everyone further. They all exchanged wondering glances with one another, until finally Goofy asked. "Sha-tow? D'you mean the castle?"

"Oui, Monsieur Chien." The blonde replied, rolling her eyes. She pointed in a direction vaguely to their left. "Le chateau. Take the road through la forêt and you'll get there."

There was a slightly awkward silence for a moment. "Uh, okay. Thanks." Sora replied tentatively, watching the young woman pick up her basket of laundry and walk away, a stiff disapproval in her shoulders.

"Okay, so where are we going?" Kairi asked.

Sora shrugged. "She said 'Go that way'." He waved a hand in the direction she'd pointed out for them. "So let's at least try this way and see if we get somewhere."

* * *

They'd had to ask one more person for directions, and obviously the older man realized they didn't speak that other mysterious language, because he spoke slowly and clearly and in plain English. 'La forêt' was the forest, and within fifteen minutes or so, the seven of them were all walking along a golden-lit path.

"Did anyone else notice that the girl we talked to didn't seem to like the Beast much?" Kairi asked. Sora nodded, looking a little troubled.

"Yeah. I didn't know the villagers even _knew _about the Beast." He shook his head. "I didn't even really know there was a _village_. All I ever saw of this place was the castle."

"I saw something out a window once that looked like a village." Donald remarked. "But we never had a chance to get there anyway, we were too busy chasing after Xaldin when we were here last."

Roxas blinked at them, startled. "I remember going somewhere with Xaldin, I think." He realized aloud. "It might've been here. Me, and Xaldin...and someone else."

"It was here." Everyone turned to look at Riku in surprise. He walked behind them, hands stuffed in his pockets. "I know, because I was here too. I ran into a girl here who wore an Organization cloak...she's probably the third person you're thinking of. Xion, I think her name was."

Sora canted his head curiously. "I didn't know you came here."

The tiniest of smiles touched Riku's lips. "This was one of those few places I managed to get to while you were still asleep." He admitted.

"Xion." The name seemed to trouble Roxas; his blue eyes were narrowed in a rather preoccupied way. "That's funny. I hardly remember anything about her."

Kairi shrugged. "Maybe it'll come back the way the rest of your memories will." She suggested. "I noticed you seem to be remembering more already."

A grimace passed over the blond's features. "Bits and pieces. And not very many of those bits and pieces make sense without everything else that goes with them."

"Welp, I guess that means it'll all come back eventually." Always one to look on the bright side of things, Mickey smiled up at Roxas. "You just gotta be patient."

"King Mickey, this is Roxas we're talking about. As in the kid who was previously _Sora's_ Nobody." Riku's voice held a note of amusement. "Sora was never patient; why would Roxas be?"

Like they had at Axel's place in Twilight Town, both Sora and Roxas reacted at exactly the same time in nearly-identical ways. "Hey!" They cried in unison, both sounding rather offended. This time, however, they realized what they'd done and stared at each other in surprise. Roxas smacked his forehead gently while Sora rubbed the back of his head, looking sheepish. Everyone else began to laugh.

* * *

As they approached the castle, which in daylight was revealed to be made of a very attractive cream-coloured stone, Sora looked around, curious. Was this the same place? It was definitely more spooky-looking the last time he was here.

Two men at the front gate, dressed as guards, stopped the brunet when he tried to enter. "Announce yourself, stranger." One demanded, dark eyes glinting with suspicion.

"Hey, we're friends!" Donald began indignantly, but was cut off when Mickey abruptly pinched his beak shut.

"My name's Sora. Donald's right, we're friends." The young Keyblade Master explained. "Could you let someone know we're here?"

Goofy chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure Cogsworth would be happy to see us. And Lumiere and Mrs. Potts."

The men exchanged glances, and one of them pulled the gate open and ushered them over the bridge and into the courtyard. The other led them inside, up to the front steps.

"Stay here." He ordered, walking up to the door and slipping inside. Even this entrance was guarded by grim-faced soldiers, although they all looked at the group on the steps with curiosity in their eyes.

"What's happened here?" Donald demanded, looking around. "We never had to announce ourselves before."

Looking pensive, Sora folded his arms over his chest. "I'm not sure." He admitted. "You guys notice that there's a whole lot more _people_ here than there were last time?"

Kairi blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you guys remember what the Beast looked like, right?" The brunet spun around, looking at the sunlit courtyard. "The rest of the people in the castle were turned into things. Remember the wardrobe?" He asked Donald and Goofy, a glint of mischief in his eyes. Goofy chuckled.

The door opening again caught their attention. A short, plump man with carefully styled brown hair and a thin moustache came out. He wore a golden waistcoat and a red-brown jacket over a pair of darker brown short pants. A chain stretched over the waistcoat indicated that he wore a pocketwatch. He lit up with a smile when he saw them all. "Oh, my goodness, Sora! It _is_ you!" He exclaimed, a prim accent to his voice. "Let them in, let them in, our honoured guests!"

Sora was absolutely astounded. The look on his face said it all. "Cogsworth?!"

The man gave a small smile, leading them up the stairs that led to the west wing. "I expect you know what happened after you left, hmm?"

The brunet teen grinned. "The Beast broke the spell with Belle's help!" He cried. Cogsworth nodded with a bigger smile.

"That's right!"

As they approached the doors of the Beast's room, a heavyset older woman came out into the hall with a cart. She looked troubled at first, but the moment she spotted them, she gave a gasp of delight.

"Oh, look who it is!" She exclaimed. Leaving the cart where it was, she came over, wrapping her arms around Sora's shoulders. "Sora, my dear, it's so wonderful that you're here!"

A tiny head with soft-looking blond hair peeked out from the bottom shelf of the cart. "Sora!" The child cried, scrambling out and hugging the teen around the waist. The Keyblade Master chuckled sheepishly at the affection from mother and son.

"Hi, Mrs. Potts. Hey, Chip. You've gotten bigger since the last time I was here." He teased the young boy. Chip giggled.

"Of course I have." He countered. "A boy is bigger than a cup!"

"A...cup?"

Chip looked around Sora to blink at everyone else. "You don't know about the spell?"

The brunet teen chuckled. "Don't worry, Chip. I'll explain it to them." He assured the boy, kneeling next to him. "These are my friends. You probably remember Donald and Goofy, but you haven't met any of the others."

Curious, Chip walked over, big blue eyes looking around at them all. "Hi, Sora's friends." He greeted cheerfully. "I'm Chip. Who are you?"

Kairi crouched down to the little blond boy's height. "I'm Kairi, Chip." She held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you." When she saw the child look up at Riku as if awestruck, she chuckled, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "It's okay. He's not quite as scary as he looks."

"Like the Master, before the spell was broken?" Chip asked. Kairi giggled again.

"I suppose you could say that."

Finally noticing that they were looking at him, Riku arched a brow at the redheaded girl. "Are you two talking about me?" He inquired. Kairi grinned at him.

"A little." She admitted, giving Chip a gentle push. Over the child's shoulder, she mouthed to the silver-haired teen, "Be nice."

As the boy approached him, Riku hesitated, unsure as to what he should do. The kid was so young...and he'd never been great with children in the first place. He glanced at Kairi again, watching as she motioned for him to sit down. So he knelt down in front of the child and waited.

"What's your name?" Chip asked curiously. The older Keybearer held out a hand, flat and palm up before he responded.

"Riku."

Reaching out, Chip touched the silver-haired teen's hand, the calluses from swordfighting rough on his child-soft skin. "Were you the one Sora was looking for when he was here before?"

Riku's lips twitched in amusement. "Yeah, that's me."

The tiny smile on the older boy's face made Chip feel a little braver. His hand lifted to touch the visitor's silver hair. "You have hair like my Mama's." He commented. Riku's turquoise eyes flicked up to take in the soft grey hair beneath Mrs. Potts' cap before another amused smile tugged at his lips.

"I suppose I do."

When the little boy's attention finally switched from him to Roxas, Riku barely managed to hold back a sigh of relief. He hadn't been sure he wouldn't somehow unconsciously frighten the child.

He still had to face Belle, but this encounter had given him a little bit of a boost for that.

After Chip had finally met them all, Mrs. Potts come over and picked him up, setting him on her hip. "Now come, Chip. We need to get back to the kitchen." As she skillfully guided the cart down the hall one-handed, the boy's whines of "Aww, but _Mama_! C'mon!" slowly faded away into silence.

"Cute kid." Roxas couldn't help commenting. Sora laughed.

"Yeah, he is." He agreed. "What d'you guys say we head on into the Beast's room and say hi?"

They approached the doors, and Donald gave a knock. A low, angry-sounding growl answered them, and Sora and Goofy exchanged glances with the white duck. Cautiously, Sora eased open the door with a resounding 'creak'.

"I _told_ you, I didn't want to be disturbed!" A tall man with light brown hair bound back in a ponytail stood with his back to the door. As he whirled around, the brunet Keybearer saw his eyes were a bright blue. At the sight of the young teen, though, he paused, blinking in surprise. "Sora?"

Sora canted his head curiously as he stepped into the room. "Beast?" He asked, then suddenly realized his mistake and slapped his forehead gently. "Duh. I'm an idiot. That's obviously not your name any more."

The prince chuckled. "Not quite." He replied. "I _was_ the Beast. Now, I'm Adam. I didn't use it when I was transformed because I didn't want my name attached to...to _that_." He shook his head. "Unfortunately, there were so many here when the spell was broken that it happened anyway. The people know the story of the enchantment...and it's caused some problems."

"Wait a sec." Roxas held up his hands. "What's all this about a spell?" He glanced at Sora, somewhat expectantly. "You still haven't explained this to us."

Hesitantly, the brunet teen exchanged glances with Prince Adam. "I don't know the story very well, but I can try." He offered. Adam looked as if he were contemplating it, but shook his head after a moment.

"Thank you, Sora, but I should probably learn to be comfortable explaining this myself." He admitted. First, though, he directed his attention to everyone else. "I'll have chairs brought for you, if you like. It's a long story, and I imagine you have one of your own to tell."

It only took a few minutes for a pair of servants to bring enough chairs to seat them all. Mickey preferred to stand; Sora supposed it was just part of being a king in his own right. Everyone else took seats with varying degrees of gratitude.

And then, the story began.

* * *

Seriously, let me know if my French sucks. It's all really basic stuff, but I haven't been in a French class in four years now. So it's entirely possible I made mistakes, or left out accents or something like that. So please let me know if you spot something wrong.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Ivy J.


	19. Chapter 19

OMG! IVY J. EXISTS AGAIN! XD

I'm not going to say it again, 'cause I think this time it'd just get repetitive. Okay. Maybe I will. I'm **_so_ **sorry, guys. But guess what?! :D No more delays, at least not for a long time yet! :D I have probably the next five or six chapters completely written by now, with some minor filling-in-ness. So for the next month or two, you'll have new material every couple of weeks or so. Yay!

I have a job again, now, and I'm officially accepted to college, which is really nice. Might be part of why you guys haven't heard a peep out of me. Government loans and application forms scare the crap out of me. XD Oh, shoot. Speaking of government loans...:shifty eyes:

Rose93darkness: I love Chip. I love writing kids, in general. They're so much fun. :D And I'm soooooo excited for KH358/2 Days :D It comes out in Japan on May 30th! :D I'm so happy! I know I've seen pictures of Xion on the bridge at Beast's Castle with Blindfolded-Riku. What happened there, I have no idea XD.

LupinandHarry: Well...I didn't exactly fulfill your request for an update soon, but it's here! Finally XD. And I try to balance it out as much as I can, thought I'm not really a combat-writer. As evidenced by earlier battles. I'm trying a new system, though, so hopefully it'll help.

loss of reality: I don't know whether I kept you interested or not o.o; I kinda hope I did. Thanks for reviewing, at any rate! :)

SuperFriendlySoraFan203: Yes, I had to put in a cute scene with Chip. He's too damn adorable. And I figured I should give Riku a break for once. Adam was just a little stressed, you know how he can get. He's like, "Rawr! Go away, I'm irritated. :chibi arm-flail:"

RyouSeiryuu: Queen Alice was actually based on Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass", his second book in the adventures of Alice. The rest of the chapter was pretty heavily based on it as well. I don't have a copy, but I found an online version on The Literature Page; just Google it, they've got all sorts of good stuff there. :D

aniuwolfe: Everyone's all like, "ZOMFG Chip equals cuteness! :D". I guess I'm good at writing little kids, lol. And you no longer have to wait, although I feel so horrible about making you wait this long already. I blame my other plot bunnies. They're too...prolific. Is that spelled right? I have no idea XD

FrostFromFire: Beast's Castle was one of my favourites too :D I love the music there! Part of why I did what I did with this chapter :sheepish grin: And part of it is the fact that I'm a myth major in Latin and love Greek and Roman Mythology to death XD. And I enjoy writing interaction between Sora and Riku. It's just too much fun. Hope you'll enjoy the tidbits in here.

Kichi Hisaki: I'll forgive you this time, because anyone who calls my stuff amazing gets some serious :heart:, lol. But I wouldn't mind hearing some comments this time. Please? Pretty please?

Oh, and speaking of myth majors and Greeks and Romans: There are definitely plans in the works for an Olympus Coliseum chapter, thus why I used the Roman names instead of Greek. And the Europeans tended to use the Roman names at any rate. I suppose it was just easier. I used the Encylopaedia Mythica online for names I couldn't find in my copy of Edith Hamilton's Mythology. Like Amphitrite's Roman name. Salacia? Wouldn't have guessed.

Have fun! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"So, you turned into 'The Beast' for ten years?" Roxas asked.

"And just before the deadline, Belle helped you break the spell the Enchantress cast on you." Kairi sighed, in that 'oh-how-_romantic_" way that girls did. Sora shook his head, laughing at her.

"You're such a _sap_, Kairi."

She tossed her hair airily. "So?"

Roxas grinned at her. "I think he actually kinda meant it as an insult."

Without really meaning to, Riku smirked. "He tried. She just didn't take it that way."

His attention diverted momentarily, Adam canted his head the silver-haired teen's way, suspicious. "I thought I knew you. Your voice is familiar." He commented. A short, somewhat rueful-sounding laugh left Riku.

"Hollow Bastion. The Rising Falls."

Blue eyes widened in shock. "That was _you_!" The prince whirled on Sora. "Did he come here with you?!"

The brunet teen raised his hands, trying to be placating. "Riku's one of my closest friends, Prince Adam." He explained. "He came with me so that he could help me out if I needed it. When you met him at the falls, he wasn't really...himself."

Adam scowled, but seemed to accept that, sitting back down in his chair. "Why _are_ you here anyway, Sora? We've had no problems with the Heartless, not since we got rid of Xaldin the last time you were here. The only problems we've had are with the people of the village."

Sora blew out a breath. "Well, it's good to hear that the Heartless haven't been bothering you." He admitted. While they'd been here, he'd noticed a definite lack of the energy that had marked Wonderland so dramatically, which made him suspect there wasn't a key here. "We're actually really only here to check in; you know, making sure nothing's wrong. But what's this about problems with the villagers?" The way Adam had said it piqued his curiosity. "Do you think we can do anything to help?"

The prince shook his head. "I don't think so. In fact, because you're relatively strangers, you might make it worse." He replied. "The villagers have learned of my past as 'The Beast', and they've found it...rather unnerving. Once, when Belle went down into town, she heard rumours that I'll go feral one day and start ripping people apart."

"That's horrible!" Sora cried indignantly. "You wouldn't do that, and everyone here in the castle knows it!"

Adam smiled ruefully. "Now, if only you could convince my people of that, everything would be fine. Belle's tried...but the villagers don't listen to her. They seem to think I've…corrupted her."

"It might not just be you." Riku couldn't help pointing out, despite his shaky standing with Adam already. "They might think living in the castle has changed her."

Though he didn't seem to like the idea, Adam nodded after a moment. "You may be right." He admitted. "The people don't like those who live here in the castle on the whole. They might have just lumped Belle in with the rest of us." With a sigh, he stood and began to pace. "I'm considered their liege lord, so they are supposed to pay me certain dues. Taxes, in coin, livestock and crops. It's how our government has worked for generations. But because we've been cut off from the village for ten years, the taxes haven't been paid all that time. And now the villagers balk at paying them. I would negotiate with them and we could come to a compromise, but they're too afraid to send representatives up to the castle."

"Why?" Roxas arched a brow. "Are they afraid they'll send you into a rage and be torn apart by your fury? You're not the Beast anymore."

"Belle's going to try and show everyone that by inviting them to a masquerade ball, next week at Midsummer." Adam shrugged. He then blinked, as if an idea had just occurred to him. "Perhaps you should go find her and ask her about joining the masquerade...I'm sure it will help her feel safe to know you're there. I think she's in the library."

But they didn't need to go searching for Belle, because the door to Adam's chamber suddenly opened to admit her. "Mrs. Potts told me you were here!" She cried, rushing over to embrace Sora happily. The young Keybearer grinned.

"Hey, Belle. We just heard about the masquerade you're planning. Can we be a part of it?" He asked eagerly. Belle clapped her hands together.

"Of course!" She laughed. "How wonderful! Let's go to the library and see if we can't find costume inspiration for you there! Do you mind if I steal them, Adam?"

"They were just on their way to see you." He smiled wryly at her. "I don't think they'll protest too much."

* * *

Everyone, even Riku, had to pause and gape in awe when they walked into the library. The shelves on the walls had to be a hundred feet high, filled to bursting with books.

"Oh, _wow_." Roxas spoke first, drawing Belle's attention from the book she'd found on the table in the centre of the room. Looking up, she laughed softly at their shock.

"I was thrilled when I first stepped in here." She admitted. "I have a...a pretty large appetite for stories." With another glance at the book, and the stack she'd drawn it from, she beckoned them over to the same table. "Come here. Let's see if we can't find gods for you all to masquerade as."

Kairi blinked. "Gods?"

"The ancient Roman gods, from their mythology." Belle explained. "The ball is mythologically-themed. We're decorating the ballroom and opening the gardens to try and make it look like a glade on Olympus."

Only half-listening up until that moment, Sora did a double-take. "_Olympus_?" He inquired curiously. Could she possibly mean _Hercules'_ Olympus?

She grinned at him. "Yes, Olympus. The home of the gods in Roman myth. Some say it's a mountain, but not always. Here." She held up a book and showed him the illustration inside; a tall, thin mountain ringed with clouds, barred by large gates in the front. Atop the mountain stood what looked like a city of majestic buildings, some even sprawling onto the clouds.

Interested, Sora took the book from her hands and began to flip through it. The next page was written like the really old manuscripts he'd been shown occasionally in history at school, with thick and thin strokes in the letters.

"Could someone maybe pass me one of those books?" Mickey asked, rising on tiptoe to peer over the edge of the table. Kairi did so, then knelt to peek over his shoulder as he flipped through it.

"Oh, wouldn't that look so great, King Mickey?" She asked, pointing to a picture of a young man in a winged cap and sandals, with a wand in his hand that also had wings on it. He wore a knee-length tunic belted at the waist. The caption read, "Mercury. Messenger of the gods, guide of the dead, and God of travel, commerce and knaves. Most clever of all the gods."

"Mercury?" Without their knowledge, Belle had come over to see what they were looking at. She grinned. "I think that's a wonderful idea myself. You'd make a great Mercury."

As they'd talked, Kairi had flipped the page back to a picture that had caught her eye. A tall, beautiful woman sat in a throne adorned with peacock feathers and topped with a pair of horns. The passage called her "Juno, queen of the Olympians. Protectress of marriage, married women and heroes." When she suggested it to Belle, a look of deep thought passed over the brunette princess' face for a moment.

"Well, if you're going to be Juno, you need a Jupiter." Her eyes twinkled as she turned to Sora and Roxas. "Which one of you would like to be King of the Gods?"

They glanced at each other. "What's he like?" Roxas asked, when Sora shrugged.

"Jupiter, also called Jove, was Lord of the Sky and God of the Thunderbolt. As supreme ruler of the gods, he reigned over not just Olympus, but also the rest of the heavens and the earth. He punished oathbreakers and those who are cruel to travellers and guests. Only the power of Fate is said to be stronger than he."

Roxas held up his hands in surrender before Sora could even say a word. "Sounds more like you than me." He admitted. "Besides, if you really want to cause a stir, you could clear out a section of the dance floor and then cast Thunder."

Just the idea of the reactions he'd get made Sora laugh. "Wouldn't that be fun?" He grinned. "I'm thinking maybe he's right. I'll take Jupiter, if no one else minds." He glanced Riku's way. "What do you think, Riku?"

Riku had had an ear on the conversations, but had mostly been distracted by yet another of the mythology books. When he heard Sora call his name, though, he looked up in surprise. "What?"

"Belle's suggesting that Kairi and I go as the Queen and King of the gods. What do you think?"

There was a split second where something odd flickered over Riku's face, but it was gone so quickly that it was hard to tell what exactly it was. A wicked smirk replaced it. "Why not?"

"If you want to all go as a unit, why don't you two go as Pluto and Neptune?" Walking over, Belle leaned down to take in Riku's bright turquoise eyes. "With those, you'd make an excellent Neptune. He was God of the Sea."

Riku arched a brow at her. Obviously, she didn't remember him. Well, that was a bit of a relief, he realized after a moment. He wouldn't scare her unless she miraculously recalled it later. But at least until then he could speak to her without expecting her to snap at him or turn and run. "If you think so." He replied mildly. "You seem to be the expert here."

"I'm not going to force something on you that you don't want." She returned. "If you'd rather be Pluto instead, we can do that. God of the Underworld, where the dead lived, and of the minerals buried in the earth. He was married to the goddess of springtime, Proserpine, who spent only half the year in the kingdom of the dead with him. The rest she spent with her mother Ceres on Olympus."

Sora blinked. The idea of Riku being married to _anyone_ was an odd one. It didn't quite compute. Riku seemed to think the same way, because after a moment, he asked, "What about Neptune? Did he have...anyone?"

Belle grew thoughtful for a moment. "I believe so, but she isn't mentioned very often. Here, let me look." She seized another book and began to leaf through it, pausing at a page near the beginning. "Oh, here it is. Salacia. She was a nymph."

Roxas and Riku glanced at each other. "Would you rather be married to a nymph, or a goddess?" The blond asked. Riku shrugged.

"I think I'd prefer the nymph, but it doesn't really matter."

"Well, I guess that settles it. I'll be Pluto, then." Roxas shot Sora a thumbs-up. "I think this is going to be fun."

"Hey, what about us?" Donald squawked indignantly. "Me and Goofy still need costume ideas!"

It took Belle only a moment to come up with a solution. "The Gemini." She declared. "You two can be Castor-" she gave Goofy a gentle tap on the head, "-and Pollux." She tapped Donald, too. "They considered themselves to be twins, although they were really half-brothers. They protected ships at sea, and went on all sorts of adventures with the heroes of mythology. And one of them-" Her eyes twinkled Donald's way. "-was born out of an egg with his twin sister Helen."

The two looked at each other, Goofy rubbing the back of his head for a moment before he grinned. "Sounds good."

* * *

After a stop at the seamstresses to get everyone measured and set, Belle led them back to Cogsworth, who set them up in rooms in the castle. There were so many of them, they practically filled the East Wing all by themselves. This was no problem, now that Belle was living in the West Wing with her prince and no one from the village ever came to visit.

Sora sat on the bed in his room, looking around. He was always rather uncomfortable in such splendid surrounds; he'd felt a little less out-of-place in the castle when it was falling apart.

_'Well, it could be worse.'_ He admitted to himself. _'I could be followed everywhere I went by a page and servants who thought I couldn't do anything myself."_

"Hey, Sora?"

The brunet looked up. Roxas stood in his doorway, eyes narrowed curiously. "What is it, Roxas?" He asked.

His ex-Nobody came in and sat down next to him on the bed. "I noticed you didn't tell Belle and Adam about the keys." He commented. "Why not?"

"Belle and Adam have enough on their plates without helping us look for a key that might not be here." The Keyblade Master replied. "Something tells me there's nothing for us to look for, here."

"I knew it."

Both boys looked up this time. Riku was leaning against the doorframe, brows arched. "You've figured out some way to know which worlds have keys and which don't, haven't you?" He inquired. Sora scowled.

"I don't know that for sure." He countered. "There was a funny energy on Wonderland that I didn't notice was there until Roxas took the Entropy Key and it disappeared. So far I haven't felt anything like that here, so I'm _thinking _there isn't a key here. I could be wrong."

"What about Jamestown?" Roxas asked. "And Atlantica? There were keys there. You didn't notice anything funny at either of those places, right?"

Sora shook his head. "That's part of why I'm not sure. I've never been to Jamestown before, so I don't think I would have noticed something like that. And we left Atlantica really quickly," He admitted, nodding Riku's way, "and I was kinda distracted then. So it could have happened there, and I just didn't pick up on it." He sighed and leaned back on the bed. "I don't know. There's usually a pattern by now. Help world, open path, find new world to help. But not this time."

"Maybe there isn't one." Riku suggested. When both the others looked up at him in surprise, he spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "Think about it. If there had been an easily-recognizable pattern to all this, it would have been solved a few Keybearers ago."

The Keyblade Master tucked his hands behind his head. "I guess we're just going to have to be smart about it, then."

Roxas chuckled. "Which means we should probably be getting a good night's sleep." He ran a hand through his hair, pulling himself to his feet. "So I'm going to go back to my room. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

Moving aside, Riku watched as the blond retreated to his room, closing the door behind him. With a half-smirk, he arched a brow at Sora. "Does that mean I should probably leave you to sleep, too?" He teased. Sora scowled and threw a pillow his way, which he dodged easily.

"Maybe you're the one that needs the sleep."

"Maybe we _all_ need it." The silver-haired teen countered, tossing the pillow back so it landed neatly on Sora's bed. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sora."

The brunet's scowl melted into a rueful smile. "Yeah, you too, Riku. 'Night."

* * *

As the ball approached, Belle and the head maid Bimbette enlisted everyone's help to decorate the ballroom and help prepare. Mrs. Potts occasionally stole one or two of them for assistance in the kitchen, washing dishes and such. It had been ten long years since the castle had participated in any sort of celebration, and the staff needed all the help it could get. They were also frequently called in for fittings as the parts of their costumes were completed. As such, their days were busier than usual. It was a nice kind of busy, actually; mostly-normal things, instead of fending off the Heartless left and right.

Something worried Sora, though. A couple of times a day, he or Riku would get just the faintest whiffs of darkness. Sometimes, even Belle or Kairi would mention it about the same time. But the Heartless never materialized in the castle. Not even a tendril of darkness was seen. So...where were they?

He wasn't entirely certain he wanted to find out.

During a few spare afternoons, he and one of the others would go for a walk down to the village and check things out. But no, no darkness was ever seen there, either. So preparations for the ball went ahead as normal, despite the hints that something wasn't right.

The day before the ball, they were called in for their final fittings with the seamstresses. Before this, the costumes had only been seen in pieces, and only by the one who was going to wear them during the ball. Now they could show off to each other.

Sora was the first to emerge from one of the fitting rooms, looking around. The cloak that hung from his shoulders rustled as he moved, nearly getting caught in the door behind him. He wasn't used to having a train, not even one that was only knee-length. His hands felt funny, too, without his gloves.

The first thing he noticed was when Belle stood and approached him. He wondered if he'd be able to keep the boots; it felt nice to be an inch or two taller than normal. She smiled broadly, walking around him in a very seamstress-esque fashion. "Oh, you look wonderful, Sora." She clapped her hands. "I don't think Jupiter himself could do it better."

Sora grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I think he would probably say otherwise." He replied. "I guess it's good, then, huh?"

She chuckled at him. "It's perfect."

"Wow, Sora, you look like a prince!"

He turned around. Kairi stood there, one slim hand over her mouth. Her hair was completely covered by a translucent hood in a vivid pink and secured by an ornate crown. She wore a gown in a deep green-blue with an overdress of the same pink. The sleeves were off-the-shoulder and layered in similar colours, draping to her wrists. He shuffled shyly, one hand still on the back of his head. "You look good too, Kairi."

Another voice, from behind the two of them, drew their attention. "King and queen of the gods, hmm?"

A fitted vest in bright turquoise and trimmed in white over a sand-coloured shirt not only evoked the Island seaside, but made Riku's eyes appear extraordinarily bright. His legs were clad in deep blue, his boots about the same colour. A floor-length cloak, deep aqua and shimmering with water-like rippling patterns, covered his shoulders. Shell patterns hemmed the short gloves webbed in gauze that covered his hands, and he, too, wore a headdress, this one looking rather like it had been carved out of coral. It swept his hair and most of his bangs back from his face, which helped his eyes stand out even more.

Sora's mouth went dry, his jaw hanging slack. He swallowed hard, trying to gather the wind for speech before anyone noticed just how stunned he was; not only was Riku actually dressed in _bright colour_, but he looked _damn_ good in it, too.

Wow. Did he...actually just _think _that?

Riku's lips twitched. "It's very..._vivid_, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Wow." He shook his head, dislodging his earlier thoughts. "I- I don't think I've seen you in anything quite that bright since we were kids."

"You look so good, Riku. You need to wear colours more often." Kairi shook a finger at him. He arched a brow at her.

"If you think you're getting me anywhere near the mall, you obviously don't remember who you're dealing with."

She grinned. "You know me, Riku. I like a challenge."

"Can someone help me with this?"

They turned. Goofy was struggling with a bright blue jacket, trying to pull it on without ripping it. Belle quickly got to her feet and went over, straightening it.

"There." She wandered around to his front, smoothing the fabric gently. "That's better, isn't it?"

The dog-soldier rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yup." He agreed with a laugh. 'Thanks, Belle." He spun around, trying to see the whole thing.

"We're practically the same!" Came a squawk. When they turned, everyone saw that Donald was right; both he and Goofy wore outfits that were comprised of a jacket over a vest and a pair of loose brown trousers. Donald's jacket was gold, with a blue vest, whereas on Goofy, the colours were switched. And when they both turned around, the others saw that each of them had one wing of a set embroidered into the jackets; Donald the left, and Goofy the right.

Belle laughed. "You're part of a set, that's why." She walked around the two of them, giving them a last glance-over. "It looks good."

"Wow, you guys are all so _gaudy_."

Sora grinned at Roxas. "You look like you're back in the Organization." He teased.

Roxas chuckled. It _did_ feel kinda like that. He was all in dark blue, brown and black, with a short, deep black hood over his face. Two shining almond-shapes were embroidered into the top rim of the hood, like Heartless eyes, except bright, sky blue. He wore a cloak beneath it in dark blue and patterned with wispy, smoky shapes, floor-length, but fuller than Riku's, so he could wrap himself entirely in it if he wanted to. Beneath was a dark grey-brown vest over a paler grey shirt, and black pants and boots. He walked over to Sora and faced him squarely with a grin. "We couldn't look any less like twins now, huh?"

Sora laughed, looking down at his red vest, dull gold jacket, brown trousers and deep blue cape. "Yeah, no kidding."

"King Mickey?"

Riku's voice was incredulous enough to make everyone look. The tiny mouse king wore a vest in a light blue, with little wings attached to the back. His trousers were grey-blue over tiny golden shoes with more wings attached to the ankles. He also wore a winged cap, and held a little golden wand with two snakes swirling around it and topped with a winged orb. He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's very festive."

"Oh, King Mickey! You look so cute!" Kairi knelt next to him, toying with one of the wings on his cap.

He laughed again. "Welp, thank you, Kairi."

"You all look so wonderful." Belle gave a wistful smile. "I can't wait until tomorrow, now. It's going to be so wonderful."

Sora nodded, flashing her a thumbs-up. "And if it isn't, we'll make ourselves useful, won't we, guys?"

"There's only one problem I can think of." Roxas folded his arms over his chest. "You said this is a ball, right, Belle? Does that mean there'll actually be _dancing_ involved?"

Belle had to stifle a laugh with a hand. "Don't tell me. None of you know how to dance."

Kairi winced. "Well, I could probably wing it." She admitted. "I've done a few dance classes, but none of them were the kind of dancing tomorrow is going to call for."

"We all were taught how for King Mickey's coronation ball." Goofy volunteered. He shuffled his feet a little. "I'm not very good, though."

The brunette princess had to laugh. "Okay. Your four-" She gestured at Kairi, Sora, Roxas and Riku. "Let's go to the ballroom. Sora, you and Riku and Roxas might want to change out of your costumes, but bring along your capes and your boots. You'll be dancing in those tomorrow, and it can be awkward trying to adjust if you've learned without them. Kairi, you'll want to practice in a dress; I can lend you one, if you like."

She smiled. "Okay. Thanks."

"Wonderful." Belle clapped her hands. "All right, everyone. We'll meet in the ballroom in half an hour, all right?"

Sora winked and sent her another thumbs-up. "Yup. Thanks a lot, Belle. We'll see you there."

* * *

When they arrived in the ballroom, they saw that Belle had enlisted a tall, robust woman with a familiar voice for help. The mystery woman chuckled at Sora as he blinked at her in surprise.

"You remember me, right, Sora?" She asked. It took a second, but the brunet's eyes went wide and round with recognition.

"You were the Wardrobe!" He cried with a grin.

"That's right!" She declared, with a neat little half-bow, half-curtsey. "I'm using my name again, though. Madame Belanger, at your service."

"Cool." He commented, still grinning. "Nice to see you again, Madame Belanger."

With a smile, Belle walked down her line of 'students' as if she were a general inspecting her troops. Pausing, she held out a slim hand to Riku. "Why don't you help me demonstrate what I'll be teaching you all today?" She asked. He glanced rather disbelievingly between her hand and her face.

"Are you sure?"

She barely suppressed a laugh. "If I wasn't, don't you think I would have asked one of the others first?"

When he still looked hesitant, Kairi poked his shoulder. "Go on, Riku. She's not going to _bite_."

With some additional coaxing, he took the outstretched hand and followed Belle out into the centre of the floor. He could hear the others whispering, and fought valiantly to keep from pinking slightly at the cheeks. He was _not_ a dancer. At _all_.

Taking his other hand, she placed it on her waist, adjusting her grip on the first one slightly until they could have laced fingers. "Relax." She murmured. "I'm not afraid of you, Riku. You certainly shouldn't be afraid of me."

He looked down at her in surprise. "So you do remember." He replied, just as soft. She raised her brows.

"Of course I do. Just because you were host to darkness doesn't make you evil." Her voice made it seem like common sense. "And besides. I'd be a fool if I thought Sora would bring you here if he so much as suspected you were a threat." Straightening, she directed his attention to their feet with a nod of her head. "All right. Now, as I step, you follow me, all right?"

He misunderstood at first, but that was quickly fixed. Being the intelligent woman she was, she eased them all into the dance, first getting them to learn the basic box-shape before spicing it up a little.

"You're all naturals!" She exclaimed with a grin. Riku in particular knew she was just being kind, but didn't protest; he was busy concentrating. As a test, he experimentally closed his eyes; could he keep the rhythm without his sight?

Thanks to the months he'd spent fighting blindfolded, he was able to keep going without watching his feet, though when Belle stopped abruptly, he very nearly tripped over hers. She couldn't help a soft laugh.

"You're doing well." She encouraged. "But don't get carried away."

He shook his head; no chance of _that_.

* * *

Their dance lesson lasted into the evening. Not only did she teach them the waltz, but two or three other dances they might encounter the next day. For all the others, she told them to 'just follow Adam and I; most of them aren't difficult to copy.'

Though they'd officially retired for the night, all four teens stayed up late, too excited in their own ways to fall asleep. In fact, they all ended up drifting off in Roxas' room, to the surprise of the maid who came in to straighten up the next morning. She wore a privately amused smile as she gently shook awake first Kairi, then the boys. Luckily, they'd been smart and hung their cloaks up on various pieces of furniture spread around the room.

"Good morning, monsieurs, madamoiselle. La princesse would like to see you."

* * *

The musicians situated near the outer doors of the ballroom were dressed as Muses, as well as someone they'd referred to as "Phoebus", the god of Music and Light, and another man who went by "Orpheus". One in particular was dressed like he was trying to imitate Phil, from Olympus Coliseum, and carried around a reed flute, cavorting around the ballroom. Giggling softly, Belle explained that he was supposed to be Faunus, a grandson of Saturn's.

The brunette princess herself was dressed in shimmering red, her hair covered, like Kairi's, by a hood, only hers was golden. Her face was painted to resemble a dove swooping over her forehead, counterbalancing her bright scarlet lips. Next to her, Adam was clothed in dark brown, black and red, his eyes shadowed in deep to give the appearance of a hulking figure with a heavy brow. Several scars had been painted into the skin of his face and arms. He had a heavy black cape on, and a large sword hung in a scabbard at his waist. To complete the picture, a shield was slung over his shoulder.

The face-painters had attended to the visiting Keybearers and their companions as well. Sora had a golden and bronze oak leaf over one eye, fading into a cloud with a lightning bolt lancing from it covering the other. One of them had been quite clever with thin brushes, giving him the illusion of scruff along his jawline. On his arm, Kairi had been given a mask of peacock feathers, her eyes where the eyes would be on the feathers. Tiny stick on jewels in pink, green and bright blue lined the top and bottom of the painted mask. Her lips were a soft pink-brown, to allow the mask to stand out.

Roxas' mask was a skull, painted in shining pearl, dull off-white and black. When he grinned, it did too, giving him a properly eerie air for King of the Dead and Lord of the Underworld. When his hood was pulled all the way forward, it practically made the rest of his face disappear, leaving nothing but the skull-shape and his stunning blue eyes.

Small, ruffled fins had been painted as if to serve as eyebrows for Riku. Underneath, several thin lines worked diligently into his skin gave him the appearance of having gills. His neck had been given the same treatment, for realism's sake. He had to fight to keep from touching it; the paint itched.

Donald and Goofy had been given limited jobs. Goofy had a golden half-mask with an "I" painted on the right side of his face, and Donald had the same job done on his left side in blue. And Mickey, walking in ahead of them, had a facsimile of the wand the costumers had made for him, with the wings spreading over his eyes.

There were dozens of water and tree nymphs, and a band of women all in deep blue, black and white with crescent moons in their hair. Their leader was more heavily made up and carried a bow and an empty quiver over her shoulder. A group of men referred to themselves as "The Argonauts", and ran around toasting to 'the spirit of adventure' and 'The Golden Fleece'. Even the dog who had originally been the footstool was dressed up; little white wings and a hood over his head with a white 'mane' made him Pegasus. The atmosphere was festive enough to mask any lingering uncertainty about this idea; everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Though each and every one of them had been nervous about their hastily-bolstered dancing abilities, all three of the boys had requests lined up practically the moment they stepped in the room. Kairi managed to help by rotating through them for most of the ball, but there was only so much she could do; especially when she, herself, was bombarded by requests for a dance.

Finally managing to escape onto the balcony, Sora blew out a deep breath. Even though all the windows were open, the ballroom was _sweltering_ with the heat of so many bodies. The Islands were warmer than this world, but it wasn't the same; at least the Islands were windy at the same time!

As he leaned against the railing and looked up at the stars, he heard a scuffling from behind and off to his right. When he turned to look, it took a few moments before he saw a young redheaded woman, her lips twisted in a scowl, stumble out of the shadows. Her headdress was skewed slightly, and at the sight of Sora, she huffed again and righted it before sweeping back into the ballroom. Canting his head, he turned back to the shadows again, only to see a familiar face peer out and towards the swirling townsfolk.

"Riku?" He blinked in surprise. The silver-haired teen sighed in what sounded like relief, coming up to stand at the railing next to him.

"She thought she'd magically be able to turn my 'no' into a yes." He muttered, in response to Sora's inquiring look. It took a second for the brunet to understand the implication, and when he did, he scowled.

"I don't understand people thinking that force is going to get them what they want." He leaned forward, crossing his arms and resting his chin on them. "Even if it _does_ work, it doesn't work for long. People get angry and turn on them."

"Mmm." Leaning forward in a similar way and propping his chin up on folded hands, Riku watched the younger Keybearer. "So what are you doing out here?"

Sora made a face. "It's really _hot_ in there, like the summer rainy season without rain. I needed some fresh air." He looked out at the view of the countryside, lit with stars. "It's nice and cool out here." A deep breath made him shiver. "And there were so many people who wanted to dance, I had to escape them."

"Has anyone been really bothering you?"

He shook his head. "Nah. It's just _a lot_." He shivered again, rubbing his arms gently. Riku couldn't help arching a brow at him.

"Cold?" He inquired. Sora shrugged.

"Maybe a little."

As subtly as he could manage, the silver-haired teen began fiddling with the clasp on his cloak. He'd been looking for a way to get rid of the thing anyway. "Here." He murmured.

The Keyblade Master looked down at the armful of aqua satin in surprise. "I- No, Riku, that's okay. I don't need this. Aren't you cold without it?"

Riku's lips twisted. "I've been looking for a way to get rid of it anyway, Sora. It's hot and bulky and not very comfortable." He laid it on the railing. "So take it."

The young Islander might have eventually been pressed into taking it, but suddenly a familiar shriek from the ballroom interrupted them. Whipping around in surprise, he dashed back into the ballroom, only to be met with trouble.

Several rough-looking men had ripped off hoods and surrounded Adam and Belle. Kairi was there, too; she'd pulled out the Being of the Land Keyblade and stood before the royal couple. Roxas looked to be trying to push through the crowd to get them, but two of the roughnecks held him off.

"You, Bête, are no Prince of mine." One of them snarled, obviously the leader. "The people don't want someone as feral as you on the throne. They want to be able to feel safe with their leader."

"He's not going to _hurt _anyone!" Belle cried. "If you would stop fighting him and just _talk_, you would understand that!"

"We don't want to take the chance." The roughneck hissed. "Not after what happened to Gaston."

"Gaston was a brute and deserved what he got!" The brunette princess stood her ground, despite the long, cruel-looking knife in the man's hand. "I don't understand why you all thought he was so wonderful! He was a womanizer and a boor!"

"Belle, be quiet." Adam muttered under his breath. She glared at him.

"I'm not going to let them stand here and accuse you of being an animal!" She insisted. "You are a _human being_, who, for a long time, was under a spell! That's not something to be afraid of! You've learned your lesson, and no one has anything to fear from you now! You're a good person, Adam, and I will not stand for them treating you this way!"

In the corner of his vision, Sora saw one of the attackers pull a small crossbow. The leader made a small gesture with one hand, as if to signal him. With horror, he suddenly realized what they might be trying to do. Running forward, he pushed through the crowd, trying to get to Belle and her husband.

"Stop!" He cried. "Don't you dare!"

"Sora!" With a hissed curse, Riku followed him into the mass of people, trying to make sure he wasn't going to get himself killed. Everyone turned around in surprise, a few backing off to make way for him.

"What's this?" One of the assailants snarled. "'Ere, it's a little kid. What'cha gonna do, little boy? Swing yer toy sword at us?"

Sora's eyes narrowed. "Oh, yeah, you're really tough, threatening a bunch of innocent people!" He spat. The Keyblade appeared in one of his hands, forcing everyone another giant step back. Once they had the room, Riku, too, pulled the Way to the Dawn out of thin air.

"You're not going to stop us, little boys." The leader sneered. "We've been well paid. We're not gonna back down because you've decided to try defending your little Beast-Prince."

"Tell your man to put that crossbow away and fight us one-on-one." Riku suggested. "Then we'll see who scares whom."

The thug growled. With a sharp cutting motion across his neck, he did so, and the other roughneck put the bow away. "I'm warning you." He hissed. "I'm not gonna go easy on you."

"Good." Sora's brow furrowed. "Then I'll know I got a good fight out of it when I beat you!"

It was a rather quick fight at first. The Keybearer disarmed the roughneck, knocking the knife out of his hands. He hissed something under his breath, and suddenly three of them jumped the brunet. It was difficult to see him for a moment, and Riku was making his way into the fray to help out when suddenly a bright white light pushed them all back.

Sora's costume had gone all yellow, and another Keyblade had appeared in his left hand. Spinning, he knocked away two of his assailants, then rushed the third, who yelped and jumped away, tumbling to grab another knife from one of his allies. Before any more of them could go for the Keyblade Master, both Riku and Roxas ran into the fight. King Mickey followed them quickly enough. The tiny mouse king received some incredulous laughter, but only until he took out one of the rogues all on his own.

Black suddenly launched itself from the fallen assailants, pooling around the feet of the leader. It reared up before it enveloped him, turning his skin ink-dark. Sora's eyes widened.

"Heartless!" He shouted. "Everyone, get out of here!"

Though they may not have understood the concept of a Heartless, the townsfolk realized something was very wrong when the roughneck's body began to bloat. They all began screaming, running for the doors of the ballroom to escape the still-growing Heartless.

It was built a little like a Dusk Nobody, with long, undulating limbs that ended in dagger-tips. A blindfold patterned with the Heartless symbol bound its eyes. It crossed its arms over its chest, reminding Sora vaguely of the Trickmaster Heartless, before a ball of black shot from it, forming a crossbow bolt that sank into the ground near Roxas' feet. Darkness fountained from it, spawning Shadows that lunged towards the remaining ballgoers.

"Belle, _go!_" Adam roared, brandishing the sword that had been part of his costume. He seemed slightly uncomfortable with the weapon, obviously much more used to the claws he'd had as the Beast. She scowled, but complied, giving the Heartless a wide berth as she hurried for the balcony. It shot arrows of darkness at her, but she was fast enough that she was outside before she was in any danger.

Whipping around, it shot another volley at Donald and Riku, but the arrows were successfully deflected by shields and Reflect spells. "Blizzaga!" Donald cried when the danger was over, pelting the Heartless with balls of ice. Three hit, forcing the long, sinewy shape to rear back. In retaliation, one of the arms flew out, snapping across Donald's feathered form like a whip. Because of his tiny stature, the duck wizard was flung back a good ten feet by the impact.

Ducking around the flailing Heartless, Riku struck at its side. The Way to the Dawn connected soundly, but left hardly a scratch. "I don't think that sword is going to do much good!" He shouted Adam's way. "I don't know if it's vulnerable to anything but magic!"

Watching the prince look down at his weapon in dismay, Sora turned back to the Heartless, eyes narrowed. Spinning Oathkeeper around in his right hand and holding Wishing Lamp tightly in the left, he lunged forward. A heavy blow opened a line in the Heartless' skin, and a second made it howl. "No, it's not completely protected!" He called back, flashing a grin everyone's way. "You just have to hit really hard!" Wishing Lamp then missed twice, the Keyblade Master blaming that on the fact that the weapon was held in his left hand.

Roxas moved in, but a rogue limb from the Heartless flew to counter him, tangling around his legs. He fought to pull free, but it snapped back, dragging him with it. He yelled his surprise as he went tumbling, barely avoiding cracking his head on the marble floor. Darting forward, Mickey tried unsuccessfully to sever the limb, though the attack made it loosen and pull away before the Heartless threw the blond teen any more.

A growl signalled an attack from their dark foe. Those long, sinewy arms snapped out, one strike cutting a red welt in Adam's arm, and the others snapping against the floor, spawning Shadows in their wake. A few hails of Thundaga took care of those. In retaliation, it shot more bolts of darkness at the spellcasters. One arrow sank itself into Sora's shoulder just as his Master Form ran out, and the other impaled the webbing between two of Donald's toes. The other bolts missed, again summoning smaller Heartless that were easily taken care of.

Focused on the line opened in the skin of the Heartless when Sora attacked it, Adam sliced. It forced the wound slightly further open, though otherwise didn't seem to affect the giant black demon any more than that. Goofy's shield came flying just past his face, sinking spikes into the cut before returning to the hand of its wielder. Recovered by a Cure from Kairi, Roxas tried again, aiming at the same spot. The Bond of Flame sank into the Heartless practically to the hilt, throwing the giant form into a panic. As he withdrew his Keyblade, the darkness began to melt, flaking away in the characteristic death of a Heartless. The crystalline heart burst from the mass of black and drifted away, into the air.

"Whew." Sora set Oathkeeper on his shoulder with a grin. "Nothing like a good battle and managing to save everyone." Footsteps drew everyone's attention to Belle, who ran back in to make sure her prince was all right.

"This doesn't solve the bigger problem, though." Riku shook his head. "Just because we've taken care of the Heartless doesn't mean the distrust is gone." He thought he caught a wry smile shot his way from Belle, and looked up to confirm. She raised a hand to her lips to try stifling it before he saw, but couldn't quite make it. It wasn't there much longer anyway before she blinked as if an idea had come to her.

"But I know what will." She declared. Curious, everyone looked up at her as she began to explain.

* * *

"I'm not entirely certain I like the idea of suddenly being thought of as a warrior prince."

It had been two days since the ball. Belle had insisted that they keep their costumes, though they had been given over to the seamstresses for a little while so all the 'battle scars' could be repaired. There had been no sign of darkness since then, not even a whiff. Hopefully, now that the villagers mostly trusted Adam again, it would stay that way.

When the guests had entered the ballroom again, they were shocked and amazed to find the only one left standing was Adam. Belle and Kairi had been sitting with the boys, tending their wounds. As they were asked, each of them gave various exaggerated accounts of Adam's single-handed takedown of the Heartless, fighting valiantly to protect his people from the evil that threatened them.

Riku thought personally that all those adventure books Belle read had gotten to her, but obviously she knew what she'd been doing, because the attitude of the villagers towards Adam did an almost-complete one-eighty turn. There were still a few dissidents, but they were in the minority; as tales of Adam's valiance in battle and devotion to protecting his people spread, fewer and fewer villagers protested their Beast-Prince.

Belle giggled softly at him. "Of course, we'll have to work on reinforcing the image from time to time," she told him. "I've heard stories of bandits in the woods; we might have to send out guards to deal with those, now."

Adam sighed. "I suppose there are sacrifices for everything." He commented, before turning his attention back to Sora and his friends. "Thank you, everyone."

"Though it doesn't sound like it, he's quite pleased we've banished the fear." The brunette princess took the Keyblade Master's hands. "So am I. Thank you."

Kairi smiled. "No problem."

"Kairi, stop speaking for the rest of us." Riku's voice was mild. She turned and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Admit it, Riku. You're beginning to enjoy helping people out."

His lips twitched. "Enjoy it? I don't mind it." He corrected. "Time will tell whether I end up enjoying it or not."

Sora nudged his side with an elbow. "Liar."

Laughing again, Belle touched Sora's shoulder to draw his attention again. "I'm sure you're off on some bigger adventure, so we won't keep you any longer than we already have." She told him. "Will we see you again?"

The Keyblade Master grinned. "Probably." He admitted. "You know one or two of us might check in every once in a while, just in case."

"Don't let a lack of Heartless keep you away." Adam suggested. "Everyone would like seeing you all again."

"We'll keep that in mind." Roxas grinned, exchanging glances with Sora. "We'll see you later."

And with that, they left Beast's Castle, off to adventure again.

* * *

I'll wait a week before posting the next chapter, so look for it on Saturday. After that, updates will be on a two-week basis, because once I'm out again, I'll be out for a while. I have a basic idea for what's next after that, but it's difficult to write. So hopefully I can get a handle on it and go from there.

Love you guys! Hope you enjoy!

Ivy J.

PS: Oh, and by the way, last chapter's offer still stands. I have a few things completed that I think I can relent and post for the 100-review-marker, some fun, cute, fluffy stuff for you Soriku fans out there. For everyone else...well...I don't really. Sorry. But I imagine most of you don't mind the pairing, if you don't actively support/ship/whatever it. Considering this story is labelled "Sora/Riku" and "Adventure/Romance", I would kinda hope so.

More love!

Ivy J. (This time for real XD)


	20. Chapter 20

Hi, guys! I'm back again. :D

I have to make this A/N quick, 'cause I'm supposed to be at work in, like, not even an hour. :sheepish grin: I completely forgot I was supposed to be updating today, lol.

OMG, we hit 100+ reviews! :D I wasn't entirely certain we'd make it, 'cause I'd been gone so long. But we did! As a thank-you, please pop by my profile. There's a Soriku collection up called "Snippets" to celebrate. :D :shameless self-promotion:

Speaking of reviews:

LupinandHarry: Yeah, fighting isn't cute. I think that's why I'm not as good at writing it, lol. But there are plenty of cute moments coming up, don't you worry! :D I hope you enjoy and keep reading!

Nox Noctis of Eternus Luna: OMG 100th review! :D Thank you very much!

FrostFromFire: Nice to know some people sympathize, although I don't think I deserve it. XD I love mythology, from, like, everywhere. I didn't specify it was jealousy, exactly, though. :shifty eyes: Mixed in with a few other things, perhaps :D And Aquarius would have been hilarious, especially since I doubt Sora would have gotten the reference at all. Yes, they will eventually end up together, though it's gonna be a bit of a rocky road. But it's coming! I swear! As for Riku and everyone being afraid of him, I really think he's just being pessimistic. Silly boy. Truthfully, I don't really like Kairi, but the story kinda demanded I treat her right, so it's happening. I liked her better in the second game at any rate, lol. I'll do my best to keep it up! :D

So, where's next? I hope you enjoy it! :grin:

* * *

Sora was sitting in the cockpit with the King later that evening, giving the pouch Pocahontas had given him a good look-over. He hadn't really had much of a chance before this, with all the stuff they'd been figuring out. But bringing back the costumes had reminded him of the gifts from Jamestown, so he'd pulled it out.

It was about the size of one of his hands, and made of soft hide. A sunrise – or sunset, he supposed, depending on how you looked at it – was woven on the front, over a sea. He ran his fingers over the material used to make the picture; Pocahontas had said it was porcupine quills, whatever those were.

But he stopped in surprise when he felt a lump, like there was something in the pouch he'd missed.

Opening it curiously, he peered inside. A thin, flexible branch, like one of Grandmother Willow's, lay coiled in the bottom corner of the pouch. Hanging from it was a smaller replica of John Smith's compass, he found when he pulled it out.

"What's that?" He heard the King ask. He shook his head.

"I dunno. It kinda looks like a keychain, doesn't it?" Inspired by that idea, he drew the Keyblade, unhooking the Oathkeeper keychain from it and hooking the new one through the loop at the hilt.

It took a moment for the weapon to reform itself. A fan of red, gold and green leaves formed the blade of the key, attached to the hilt by braided stems. Out the top grew a tiny corncob. The hilt was wood, painted in primitive designs in bright colours and decorated with dangling feathers. Sora blinked in surprise before he grinned.

"Cool."

The console beeped at him furiously, causing him to quickly switch the keychains back before looking out at their surroundings. The Gummi ship coasted easily to a stop before the world they'd seen topped with a farm; they'd made a nearly-unanimous decision to try this world next, instead of the dual-castle world. Something made it feel like it might be quieter. A label popped up on-screen with an arrow: The Plantation.

Curious, Sora echoed the name aloud. "I wonder what kind of plantation." He mused. Mickey chuckled at him.

"Welp, y'know, Sora, the best way to know is to head down there."

The Keyblade Master grinned again. "Yeah, I guess it is, isn't it?" He realized. "I'll go let everyone know we're here."

* * *

They touched down at a bend in a dirt road, leading up to a quaint-looking little farmhouse. Several small, spotted animals looked up in surprise at the lance of light that was the Gummi Ship's teleporter. A small creature with black ears came up, barking with glee when he got to the gate as if he'd recognized someone in their little group.

Donald immediately pulled out his wand, wary. On the other hand, Sora walked forward. The tiny barking beast ran up to the brunet's feet, revealing itself to be a small white puppy with black spots. He jumped up, pressing his front paws against Sora's leg to support himself. With a chuckle, the Keyblade Master knelt and scratched him behind the ears.

"Hey, you."

Goofy knelt down next to Sora. "Hey, it's one of those Dalmatian puppies we kept findin' in the chests and bringin' back to Traverse Town." He chuckled as another puppy came ambling up and began to lick his chin in greeting. "I guess this must be their world."

A series of louder, deeper barks drew everyone's attention forward again. Two more Dalmatians – larger, thinner copies of the puppies – came bounding towards them all. Despite him having braced himself, their momentum still bowled Sora over as they pounced on him, barking and wagging their tails joyfully. The young Keybearer laughed breathlessly at the greeting.

"Pongo! Perdita! What on earth are you doing? Heel!"

At the new voices, the dogs froze, then reluctantly backed away, tails thumping the ground and stirring up small clouds of dust as they sat. Shaking his head, Sora looked up in surprise when a hand was thrust into his field of vision.

"I'm terribly sorry. My name is Roger Radcliffe, and this is my wife Anita." The man was tall and lanky with deep blond hair and a long, thin face. The woman next to him was smaller, a little less angular and had darker hair, but the two of them wore nearly-identical apologetic expressions. "I have no idea what could possibly have gotten into our dogs."

Sora chuckled, taking the hand with a nod of thanks. "It's okay. I've met your dogs before...I think they recognized me." He stood. "I'm Sora. We're not from around here, but we noticed you had such a nice farm. I wasn't expecting to run into anyone we knew, though."

Strange, he was suddenly sure there wasn't a key here either...just as it was on Beast's Castle, there wasn't anything in the air like the resting energy he'd sensed on Wonderland. It was just an ordinary world.

Shaking it off again, he looked down to see three more puppies had joined the black-eared one at his feet. A closer look showed him that they all wore collars in either a bright red or a soft blue, matching Pongo and Perdy's collars. The one that had run to greet him first also had a distinctive horseshoe-shaped pattern of spots on his back, with the ends pointing at his head. The puppy nudged his knee gently, whining a little for attention. With a soft laugh, Kairi sat down, reaching out a hand.

"Come here, you little sweethearts."

Several of the gathered puppies trotted over to the redhead and began to climb all over her, encouraged by Kairi's delighted giggling. Anita watched with a fond smile, walking over to make sure the puppies didn't get too rowdy.

"And are these your...travelling companions?" Roger asked, looking around at all seven of them. Sora's face took on a peculiar sort of thoughtful expression.

"I suppose you could call them that. We're all good friends." He replied after a moment. "We travel around and help people with their problems, really." With a wink, he ruffled Pongo's ears gently. "Anything we can help you out with?"

Pongo barked as if in response, his tongue lolling as the brunet scratched him behind the ears. Roger smiled at his pet, but it was a somewhat-distracted smile.

"Not recently. We thought we had a problem, but it seems to have resolved itself for now." He replied, focusing again on Sora. "Would you come in for tea? I'm sure you all must be tired after your journey."

The Keyblade Master grew thoughtful again for a moment. "I'll have to talk it over with everyone else. Could I maybe get back to you on that?"

Roger nodded. "Of course. We'd be glad to have you, but if you have other matters..." He left it hanging. Sora nodded.

"Okay. Be right back. I'll talk to everyone."

He had a sneaking suspicion that this would go the same way it had on Chateau Vitrearii, and the others didn't disappoint him. As much as they would have liked to stay, the vote was to keep searching for the other keys.

"All right, then. Will we see you around some other time?" Anita inquired, rather timidly. Kairi smiled at her.

"Of course. We'll come back another time, see if everything is still going okay."

The brunette woman smiled back. "Wonderful. We'll keep an eye out. I'm sure the puppies will, too. They seem to like you."

The dogs punctuated the comment with joyous barks, Pongo even standing up and pressing his front paws to Sora's shoulders to give the Keyblade Master's face a thorough washing. He laughed, ruffling the Dalmatian's ears.

"Thanks, guys. We'll see you another time."

The puppies gave them an escort down to the gate, where they stood, barking, as the Keybearers walked off. Only the puppy with the horseshoe on his back insisted on trailing after them, until Mickey walked over and and gently nudged him back towards his brothers and sisters.

And then there was a scream from the trees nearby.

Ironically enough, Sora and the puppy had nearly the same reaction at the same time, both taking off like a shot to investigate the noise. Everyone else followed, drawing their weapons.

A crowd of Heartless had surrounded a tree, off which hung three people. A short, chillingly-thin woman with fluffy white-and-black hair, and a pair of men. One was rather heavyset and whimpering, while the other was tall, angular, and shouting and throwing things at the scampering Shadows. One of them hissed at him, stretching itself long enough to take a swipe at his dangling heel.

A volley of Dark Aura, Blizzard spells and Pearls flew past Sora to bombard the Heartless, who reacted rather viciously to the interruption. A Neoshadow reared up, launching itself at the puppy, who barked and snarled furiously at it before retreating to stand with Kairi. She, in retaliation, cast a quick Reflega, watching as the Heartless bounced off, shrieking. Sora swiped at it, knocking it further away as the tiny Dalmatian bolted, fleeing back under the trees towards the house.

Taking care of those Heartless was quick and easy. Dealing with those that had been chased up the tree by said Heartless, though, was slightly more difficult that it really should have been.

"What'cha comin' in here for and ruinin' our fun? Good sport, wasn't it, Horace?"

The plump man shivered. "I don't know, Jasper. Wasn't sport to me."

"Shut up, you idiots." The woman spat. "Now that those little monsters are gone – I wouldn't be surprised if the Radcliffes were breeding _those_, too – we can leave."

Sora blinked in surprise, taken off-guard enough to spit out the first thing that came to mind. "The Heartless didn't come from the farm."

The woman glanced up at him from retrieving her impractical heels from the roots of the tree, her lips twisted in a snarl. "How would you know that, hmm?" She demanded. "Maybe they came with _you_, instead!"

"The Heartless, unfortunately, go where they like." Kairi used her background to her full advantage, looking down her small nose at the woman. "You must have done something to draw them out."

The woman's eyes narrowed. Sensing a fight that she might not be able to win, even with the bumbling idiots by her side, she backed off with a haughty sniff. "Horace! Jasper!" She snapped. "Back to your car."

"Are we gonna meet at the De Vil-" The rotund one began, but was cut off when his companion slammed a fist down on his head.

"Shut up, you idiot."

They departed abruptly, leaving a few suspicious Keybearers in their wake. Mickey let his Keyblade disappear, eyes narrowed.

"Maybe we should go tell Roger and Anita about this."

"I think you're right." Sora, too, watched the retreating trio. "Maybe that problem Roger said had 'taken care of itself', really hadn't."

* * *

"Oh, Rog. It's Cruella. She's trying to get the Plantation again."

The Radcliffes had been surprised to find the Keybearers on their doorstep so quickly after they'd left, but the moment they'd heard the trouble, they'd brought them inside and sat them down. Now, Nanny was bringing in a tray laden with teacups and a pot, offering tea to each of them.

Roger's eyes were narrowed as he stared out at the farmyard. "I should have known she wouldn't just give up. She's been plotting, I wager."

"Cruella De Vil is a friend of mine from high school." Anita explained to their guests. "She has always been infatuated with silks, and furs, and diamonds; anything that is expensive and feels nice. When she found out Pongo and Perdita had fifteen puppies, she tried to buy them from us. Roger wouldn't let her have them, so she-"

"She sent those two sneak-thieves in to steal them!" Nanny interjected indignantly. "And then she used that filthy money of hers to buy more! She wanted to make coats out of them all!"

Kairi blanched. "She wanted to do _what_?!"

"And you're _friends _with her?" Roxas was incredulous. Anita shook her head.

"Not anymore. Now that we've gotten the puppies back and started the Plantation, she's been trying to buy our land from us. Or, failing that, she tries to get it in other ways."

"Game shows, bribery, disguises, kidnapping. She's tried it all." Irritated, Roger put the end of his pipe in his mouth, but didn't light it; he'd been _trying _to quit. "It's just one insane scheme after another!"

Sora couldn't help scowling. "That's horrible."

Pongo trotted over and laid his head on the brunet's knee with what sounded curiously like an exasperated sigh. He scratched the Dalmatian's head affectionately. "You guys must be sick of it too, huh?" He asked, as Pongo gave a little whine as if in answer. "Now that the Heartless are here, we'll help out. I don't know what they were doing here, but they obviously liked Cruella, because they went after her like she was made of darkness."

Roger scoffed. "I'm not surprised." A bark of agreement from Pongo made him smile, though. "Thank you very much, for your help. You're welcome to stay with us until your business with the Heartless is finished."

An impulsive grin touched Anita's lips. "Have any of you ever worked on a farm?" She asked. "We could use the hands around here, if you don't mind."

Sora grinned, glancing at Riku and Roxas. "I think that's fair, right?"

"To pay you back for your hospitality." Kairi giggled sheepishly. "Are you talking, like, milking cows and collecting eggs?"

Anita nodded. "I'm afraid so." She teased, pulling herself to her feet. "Come. I can show you the basics now, if you like."

As they left, Roger sat back. "It's a little less pleasant for us, I'm afraid." He warned the boys. "There's a lot of hauling buckets and wheelbarrows and other such things. And the puppies have to be watched almost constantly; Lucky and a few others are rascals, and they'll find anything they can get into mischief with."

Sora chuckled; he remembered tracking all ninety-nine of them down in threes. "I can imagine."

The musician set his pipe aside and pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his hands together until his knuckles cracked. "Well, come on, then. Time to show you the ropes."

* * *

Everyone had settled into the tasks at hand – Roger had gone easy on them and had let them start with mostly-simple tasks like weeding Anita's rather substantial vegetable garden and helping him dig irrigation trenches for it – when suddenly, the sound of a vehicle coming up the path echoed over the farm. Even Kairi and Anita had come out of the barn to investigate, the older woman wiping her hands off on a rag that she then tucked into the pocket of her apron.

The car that rode up was the black and white of a police vehicle, and Anita went rather pale when she saw the woman who rode in the passenger seat; Cruella. Her arm was all bandaged up and hanging from a sling.

Her eyes blazed when she got herself out of the car, waving a piece of paper at the stunned Radcliffes. "I'll have the farm for this, Anita! Your precious little plantation for your little puppies and your half-wit musician husband!"

"Cruella, what on earth are you talking about?" The brunette woman demanded. The fur-clad woman sneered.

"Your little _bodyguards_!" She spat. "I saw a cat up one of the trees along the road leading up to your quaint little farm, and when I tried to rescue it, those little black things you're secretly breeding here came out and attacked me!"

"You were looking to skin the poor cat, no doubt!" Roger shouted. "You and your inane moneymaking schemes!"

"_That's enough_." The policeman's voice was firm, cutting off both of them. "Let's go inside, shall we? We'll talk about this there."

Roger's eyes flashed. "I'm not letting _that _woman set one foot inside my home." He insisted. "Whatever she's said to you is a lie, I'm certain."

Cruella sneered. "What about this?" She patted her injured arm. "It's so stiff I can't even use it! How am I supposed to work like this? I could lose my job!"

"You could live quite comfortably on the wealth in that coat of yours, Cruella." Anita's voice was soft, but held an undercurrent of scorn. Kairi glared at Cruella.

"Besides, you weren't hurt when we left you!"

Mimicking the redhead from earlier, Cruella looked down her nose at the girl. "That shows how much you know about injuries, _child_." She replied with awful emphasis. "It was injured in the struggle, and I didn't feel it until later. And now you admit that you left me, without making certain I was all right. I believe that's negligence, Officer?" She added honey to her voice until even a bee would have drowned. The officer looked rather uncomfortable.

"Perhaps, though through no fault of their own."

"And what about those little black creatures that attacked me in the first place?" Cruella demanded. "They're dangerous!"

Sora scowled. "It's not Roger and Anita's fault they were drawn to you, Cruella!" He insisted. "You were here, so _they _were here! The plantation has nothing to do with it!"

She stalked over to him. "Are you going to believe this _boy _over me, Officer?" She hissed at the Keyblade Master angrily. "I will have the Radcliffe Farm for the damage. There's nothing you can do; I have the best lawyers in the country!"

He faced her squarely. "Roger and Anita aren't afraid of your or your lawyers, Cruella. And neither are we."

Her eyes were narrowed to slits, her breath hissing out through her teeth like an angry cat. But suddenly, something caught her eye over the brunet's shoulder, and she suddenly blanched.

"There they are again, the little brats! They're bringing out their guard dogs to chase us off!"

Sora whirled around. Flooding out of the woods were a wave of Neoshadows and Rabid Dog Heartless. The ground began to shake, too, as another, much larger Heartless followed them out. It was of a vaguely human shape, but grotesquely fat, with rolls hanging from its neck, its waist, and flapping from its arms. Cruella shrieked and turned to run, but was cut off by several of the Neoshadows.

Riku was the first to draw his weapon. "Get inside!" He snapped at Roger and Anita. "We'll take care of this!"

With a nod, the blond pianist grabbed his wife's arms and pulled her inside. The police officer pulled his gun, staring at the giant Heartless in awe. "What is that?" He asked, voice tense. Sora's eyes narrowed as he, too, drew his Keyblade.

"That's called a Heartless, Officer." He replied. "You might want to let us take care of it, I don't think that gun will help much."

Everyone drew back into a circle, blades drawn, to protect the policeman and Cruella. She, however, wanted nothing of their protection, and ran screaming for the opposite edge of the woods. Sora tried to stop her, but she obviously didn't hear him, because she continued running.

The giant Heartless gave a similar piercing scream, magicking a ball of darkness into its hand and throwing it at the fur-clad woman. It hit just before her, making her jerk back and tumble backwards, screaming and cursing the whole way.

It threw another ball, but before it could hit Cruella, Sora threw his Keyblade, the weapon slamming into the orb of darkness and deflecting it into the air before returning to the hand of its wielder. The woman had no idea just how close she'd come to true injury, but she shrieked and scrambled back towards the group when she looked up and found herself face-to-face with a Neoshadow, the Heartless baring black teeth and hissing. The sling she'd bound her arm in was ripped away when the creature of darkness lunged forward, claws outstretched.

Not paying any attention to Cruella – the woman irritated the hell out of him already – Riku focused on the Heartless. It stared back at them all, large yellow eyes expressionless. Opening its mouth, it seemed to cough, shooting a glob of yellow-orange that hissed and sizzled when it struck the ground.

"Acid." He realized aloud, recoiling from the attack instinctively. Raising his voice, he made sure Kairi and the others could hear him. "Don't let it touch you!" In recognition of the warning shot he knew the first attack was, he readied a Dark Shield, preparing for a glob of acid that was actually _aimed_ his way. When it came, the energy reflected it back, causing the Heartless to howl in pain and clutch its face, stomping around as if to catch a few of the Keybearers between its toes.

An arrow of light leapt from Roxas' fingertips, startling everyone – including himself. It shot straight for a marking that had been hidden by the Heartless' hands, directly in the centre of its torso, where a bellybutton would be on a human being. It shrieked again, dancing more madly.

Realizing that must be the dark being's weak spot, Riku bombarded it with several Dark Auras. When it went to cover the marking again, Kairi's Keyblade lit up with a bright white light, which then shot from the tip and directly into the Heartless' face. Its hands raised again, allowing access to the marking once more. Blizzaga shots came from Donald's wand, and Goofy threw his shield at the thing; the King, for his part, actually leapt forward and attacked the marking directly, spurring more cries from the grotesque Heartless.

Lightning was called down from the sky, driving the creature of darkness into further frenzy. Riku glanced over his shoulder to see Sora standing back, driving off the Neoshadows, now that everyone else seemed to have the giant Heartless under control. But he flashed a grin their way, summoning another rain of Thundaga to help out.

A set of teeth sank themselves into the silver-haired teen's ankle. With a potent curse and a kick, he sent the Rabid Dog flying, yipping its agony. He let it know his irritation further with another wave of Dark Aura, two of which he sent off to pound at the giant Heartless' weak spot again.

Lunging forward after the King bounced away, Roxas sank the Essence of Turmoil Keyblade into the centre of the marking. The Heartless' cries rose to the intensity of a death-shriek as it collapsed back, dissipating into black shreds as it lay on the grass.

With the giant Heartless gone, the Neoshadows and Rabid Dogs stopped coming, so it was only a matter of time before the farm was clear of darkness again, the last Heartless exploding into shreds of ebony and vanishing. With a sigh, Sora sat down on the grass, grinning.

"Nothing like a good Heartless battle to wear a person out, huh?" He teased. Riku arched a brow his way.

"You must be kidding, Sora. A year and a half of fighting these things, and a battle that short wears you out?" His voice took on a superior tone. "You'd think you'd be better at that by now."

Sora stuck his tongue out in response, making Kairi giggle. She turned around to make sure everyone was okay and gasped, pointing. "Look!"

Cruella looked rather disheveled, lying in the dirt with her limbs splayed. But everyone could clearly see as she struggled to her feet that despite her earlier claims, her arm was fine; even without the sling, she was waving it around like a madwoman, screaming about how she would have the farm for this and how they would pay for her coat as well and why in the world was everyone staring at her like that?!

Only when she looked up did she realize her charade was over, her arms flailing in the air like those of a toddler who'd lost their playtime for insolence. She snarled.

"I will have this piece of land, and your pitiful farm!" She waved the paper she'd been holding earlier, though by now it was sodden and blotched with mud and running ink. "If it's the last thing I do, Anita, I will take it all from you! Do you hear me?!" She shrieked in the direction of the house. Cursing and crying, she limped on one broken shoe all the way out to the bend in the road, hollering for Horace and Jasper, who came to pick her up in their old, black delivery van. Sora scowled at her retreating back.

"Good riddance."

The officer who had come with her holstered his gun, quite stunned by Cruella's fury. "I guess we'll be leaving now, since there seems to be no further complaint." He shrugged. Kairi touched his arm reassuringly.

"Don't worry. I don't think the Heartless will come back for quite a while, if ever. You might just have to deal with her."

The officer's lips twitched. "Have a good day." He told them. "And pass it onto the Radcliffes; it's such a shame the De Vil woman has it in for their farm; my wife buys all her vegetables from Anita's stall in the town's Farmer's Market. I hope those...things...won't upset her crop."

Roxas grinned. "If it makes that much money for them, I hope not, too."

* * *

After the officer left, they ducked inside to let Roger and Anita know that the Heartless were gone and things were safe now.

"I think they were more drawn to Cruella than anything else here." Sora admitted. "So I don't think they'll be back to bother you again unless she returns. But we seem to have good timing, too; if they show up, know that we'll probably be along within a day or two to check up on things and get rid of them."

Anita smiled. "Thank you so much, Sora, and everyone." She came forward and embraced each of them. "Without your help, we could have lost the farm."

The brunet chuckled. "I'm sure you would have managed." He shot them a thumbs-up. "At least if it'd just been Cruella, anyway. You would've thought of something."

Pongo, mostly unnoticed until now, barked joyfully. Perdita mimicked him a second later, causing a chain reaction in the puppies until they were all yipping madly. The din made it hard to hear, but everyone began laughing nonetheless.

"We'll see you guys." Kairi promised, once the noise had died off. "But right now we have to go."

The puppies followed them down the driveway, peeling off as their courage failed them until only the one with the horseshoe on his back remained; Lucky, Sora recalled. He trailed them right up to the area where they teleported down originally. Kneeling, Roxas patted Lucky's head gently.

"Go on. We're gonna leave now, and you can't come with us."

With what looked remarkably like a pout, Lucky turned and scampered off, back towards his brothers and sisters. Riku chuckled.

"He reminds me of someone." He commented wryly. Kairi giggled.

"Sora, it's _you_ in puppy form!"

The brunet grinned. He kinda liked that idea, actually. "Nah, he'd have to be brown." He replied carelessly. "C'mon, guys. Let's go."

* * *

Next up: that double-ended castle world that's left on the Navi-Gummi! Any guesses, anyone?

I can't wait to hear from you guys!

Love,

Ivy J.


	21. Chapter 21

Hi~ guys! -heart- It's that time of the fortnight again! It's Ivy J, here with another DCL chapter!

OMG, you guys are so awesome -heart-. When I wasn't updating, I really missed those wonderful little boosts to my ego called 'reviews'. Sometimes, I really needed 'em.

Again, I'm supposed to be heading into work this morning, but not for another two hours this time. They reeeeally like me working on Saturdays. So I have to be quick again. This'll probably be a fairly common thing now. Oh well.

Arear: OMG, you live! Yay! I've missed your comments! -heart- The Plantation actually gave me a lot of trouble, although I'm having worse trouble with the next quarter of story now, lol. I hadn't seen any 101 Dalmatians in FOREVER, and I didn't want it to be _completely useless_ like Chateau Vitrearii. That chapter irritates me, now. I'm sorely tempted to go back and fix it. Later. Maybe once I'm done. I enjoyed writing the masquerade, but I enjoy even more that everyone had exactly the reaction to it that I was hoping for, lol. I could see Belle picking up on R/S, but I couldn't quite see her acting on it, which is weird. But that's okay! Yes, there are plenty more moments to come! Trust me :D Oh, and, BTW: You get bonus love for guessing right! :D You'll see!

Rose93darkness: I did love writing the puppies. It was so much fun. And I do like Anita and Roger, although during my research, I discovered that when the cartoon was released, they'd changed Roger and Anita's last name...probably because they didn't want anyone mixing them up with Governor Ratcliffe from Pocahontas. Buuuuut I decided to go back to their original name, because I though that was kinda silly. -heart- Anyway, enough of my rambling, I'm glad you liked it!

LadySYNdrome: Oh, trust me, it's coming. It's actually giving me trouble at this very moment, lol. Well, kinda. Sorta. More like the story _surrounding_ it is giving me trouble. Deces Claves Luminibus is...well, truthfully, it's bastardized Latin. I got it proofread by a friend who remembers hers a lot more easily than I do mine. It's supposed to mean "Ten Keys to Light". It kinda gets the message across, but not really XD

A Seraphim Moon: I'm so sorry to hear about your uncle. I'm glad my story helped, though. Sora and Riku are getting there; slowly, but surely. I swear, it's coming. I'm trusting the comments I keep getting where people are all like, "This is so realistic because it's slow! -heart-!".

the-ice-cold-alchemist: Oh, yes. Roxas needed to be there. I had to. And no, as of yet, there are no plans to kill him off. That could change, I will warn you, but only if the story demands it. Like, hands-slamming-into-tables, temper-tantrums kinda demands. I _have_ killed characters before...  
And they weren't silent conversations, per say. It was more that funny kind of 'mind reading' that friends can do after they've known each other for a long period of time. It's that whole, "Oh, I know what _you're_ thinking." thing. And I know! It's amazing, lol. Sora DOES have the ability to calm down and be quiet, lol.

Lavender Phantom Flame: Oh, I want to cuddle them too, trust me. lol. I adore Sora and Roxas. And I always thought so too, really. Granted, I have plenty of fics on my favorites where things happen that way, lol. Sometimes fast works, and sometimes it doesn't. And it's funny you should mention Antiform...-shifty eyes-

So, guys, enjoy the Kingdom of Roses! -heart-

Oh, and, by the way, just to warn people; there's some swearing in this chapter. I don't recall anyone having dropped the f-bomb before in what I have posted already. Well, it's happening now, lol. Be prepared. I think it only happens once in here...but it's gonna happen again. XD

* * *

The Kingdom of Roses, the last world on their path was called. It had that older air that Chateau Vitrearii had, with slightly duller colours than most places. In the middle of the forest, that had the effect of making things a little gloomier than expected. The black and white castles that had double-ended the world on the Navi-Gummi were nowhere to be seen.

"Well, that's a bit of a problem." Roxas commented, spinning around. "Are we lost?"

Donald scoffed. "We don't get lost, Roxas." He told the blond. "If we wander around long enough, we'll find something."

There was an audible gulp from Kairi's direction. "Or something might find us."

Everyone spun to face her. Large packs of Heartless seemed to materialize out of nowhere, popping out of the ground as they usually did. Several little Shadows dressed in knight's armour circled them, some riding on other Heartless shaped like miniature horses. A few looked like the Creeper Plants, except with the heads of roses instead of lilies. In place of their projectile seeds, they instead shot thorns.

The friends backed into a circle in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by Heartless. Sora looked around warily, carefully considering the situation. '_We might need the extra firepower.'_ He realized. _'Valor or Master form might be best...probably Valor, so that I don't take both Donald and Goofy away.'_

"Goofy!" He called, pulling the Valor Orb out of his pocket. "I'm gonna need your help!"

Goofy glanced at Sora, then grinned and gave him a thumbs up, reaching out and placing his hand on the Valor Orb. The Save the King Shield and the Oathkeeper Keyblade clanged together, and the brunet Keyblade Master's back arched dramatically as he began to glow. Seconds later, Goofy disappeared.

But something suddenly went wrong.

Donald disappeared at the same time, abruptly and mysteriously. As the Court Wizard vanished, Mickey looked up, surprised. He knew how the Drive Magic worked...only Goofy was called on, so only Goofy should have disappeared. As the light dissipated, the group saw that Sora had turned a deep black colour from head to toe, as if he'd been doused in ink. The Keyblade had disappeared, but that didn't seem to deter the brunet at all. He leapt at the nearest Heartless, swiping at it with fingers that had suddenly been tipped in long, thick claws. The Heartless fell to pieces, and this new, dark-Sora darted, faster than the eye could see, to the next one.

Within a few minutes or so, all the Heartless had been taken care of. As the other four Keybearers watched, wary, Sora looked around as if expecting more to pop up. When they didn't, he whirled, lightning-fast, to face them. He canted his head slightly, almost as if curious, watching as the boys moved to stand between him and Kairi. His eyes, normally that impossibly vivid blue, had turned a bright, golden, pupil-less yellow.

_'Heartless eyes._' Riku realized, his own widening in response to the thought. '_He looks like a fucking _Heartless_.'_ His blood ran cold, a shudder gripping him at the resemblance between the Keyblade Master and the beings of darkness they were supposed to be getting rid of. This wasn't right. _At all_.

"Sora?" Mickey's voice was cautious. "Are y'okay?"

That golden, expressionless gaze snapped to the mouse king for a moment. When Mickey didn't continue, Sora looked back up at the others, staring at them in an almost-scrutinizing way. They stayed that way for a few moments, examining each other closely. Roxas couldn't help but stare at those soulless pits of yellow, round gold coins set against deep black velvet.

But all of a sudden, those eyes were _much_ too close for comfort.

"_Shit_!" Roxas shouted in alarm, jerking back and flicking the Essence of Turmoil Keyblade up between them. For Sora, who had been a good six feet away not two seconds ago, was suddenly right up in his face. Mere inches separated the two, their resemblance to one another adding to the unearthly nature of the situation.

"Sora?" Riku called softly. The spiky-haired teen appeared not to hear him, but he must have, because a moment later, he was suddenly standing before the silver-haired Keyblade wielder, just as close as he'd been to Roxas. Shock flickered through Riku's eyes; he hadn't been expecting this dark-Sora to move _quite_ so fast. "_Shit._" He whispered without thinking, not even recalling that he was echoing Roxas. Those yellow eyes blinked at him, slowly.

A split second later, a flash of white light caused the darkness to dissipate. As it vanished completely, Sora was left in its place, his breathing deep and quick as if the adrenalin produced during the fight had all been released at once. He looked around, disoriented, brilliant blue eyes wide and slightly unfocused.

"Sora, are you okay?" Kairi asked, more than a touch of concern in her voice. The brunet teen looked her way, but didn't answer, blinking hard as if needing to wake himself up. He wavered slightly for a moment or two, then suddenly his eyes rolled back and down he went.

Acting on instinct, Riku reached out, grabbing Sora's shoulders as he fell and kneeling. He shifted the brunet gently as if trying to wake him up, but the teen in his arms was already out of it. With a sigh, he ruffled his friend's cinnamon hair, lips twitched in a rueful half-smile.

Roxas knelt on Sora's other side. "Is he okay?" The blond asked. Riku nodded.

"Yeah, he's okay, I think. He's just unconscious." Another sigh caused the silver-haired teen's shoulders to rise and fall. He raked the fingers of his free hand through his hair, thinking. "But we need to find someplace where he can rest. It's too dangerous out here; the Heartless could come along again any minute."

"Riku! Roxas! Kairi!"

They all looked up. Mickey stood on a path at the edge of the clearing, Donald and Goofy to either side of him. Apparently, neither the duck nor the dog-creature was as affected by the misfired Drive as Sora was. The mouse king waved his Keyblade at them. "There's a house this way; it's not too far. C'mon!"

Carefully, Riku scooped the unconscious Sora up in his arms and stood, following Mickey as he went back down the path. The house he led them to was a small cottage, nestled against a cliffside. A river flowed in front of the little house, falling from a channel protruding from the rock of the cliff to turn a waterwheel. The group walked over the bridge and to the door, where Roxas knocked hesitantly. A tiny woman with grey hair pulled back into a bun answered. She was dressed all in green, with a short cape over her dress and a conical brimmed hat.

"Hello." Kairi greeted her, smiling. "We're terribly sorry to bother you, but could our friend possibly rest here for a little while? We were attacked by the...creatures, in the woods." She moved aside to reveal Sora. At the sight of the brunet teen, the woman at the door of the cottage gasped so sharply it was nearly a cry.

"Oh dear!" She cried, brown eyes wide. "Flora! Merriweather! Sora's here, and he needs our help!" She turned to hurry back into the cottage, revealing the tiny gossamer wings on her back. "Come in, come in, dears. There's a bedroom upstairs where he can rest." She called over her shoulder.

Two more older women came into the room, one from a side passage, the other from upstairs. When they saw Sora, they both gasped in the same manner as the first had.

"Oh my goodness! Yes, dear, just take him upstairs. Merriweather, show the boy where to go!" The elder, garbed entirely in red, shooed the third fairy back upstairs. She dipped a slight curtsey before she turned, leading Riku up to the second floor. Bustling over to one side of the bed in the upstairs room, she pulled the covers back with a flick of her wand.

"Just set him down here. Your friend, the girl, she said that you were attacked by the Heartless?" The plump, blue-clad fairy settled on a small stool, looking up at the silver-haired teen. He nodded absently, distracted as he gently placed Sora's unconscious form on the bed. The fairy drew the covers over the brunet teen with another magical wand flick.

With Sora settled, Riku looked up at the blue fairy...Merriweather, the red one had called her...with curiosity in his bright turquoise eyes. "How do the three of you know Sora?" He asked. "He told us himself that he's never been to this world before." He started to kneel beside the bed, only to find himself sitting on a chair that he could have _sworn _wasn't there a minute ago...Looking up at the black-haired fairy, he saw her smile cheerfully, the wand in her hand tipped with a blue light.

"Oh, we stayed and worked with the King's teacher, Master Yen Sid, for a little while before coming back here. We were there when Sora came, not so long ago. You're his friend...the one he was looking for, right?" Expression set in concentration, she tapped the brim of her hat with her wand. "Ri...Ri...oh, Riku, that's it!"

A soft, wry half-smile touched Riku's lips. "Yeah, that's me." He replied, rather amused by Merriweather's antics. Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and he looked up as Mickey came to the door. With a smile, the mouse king came over, making room for the red fairy, Kairi and Roxas, who appeared in the doorway moments later.

"I'm glad this happened here." Mickey admitted. "Riku, these women are the three good fairies. Flora," He gestured to the red one, "Fauna, and Merriweather. They're the ones who crafted the Drive Magic for Sora, so they should be able to tell us what went wrong."

"What do you mean, 'what went wrong'? Something went wrong with a Drive Form, Your Majesty?" Flora blinked at Mickey. Suddenly, a flash of understanding glinted in her deep brown eyes. "Oh, dear, you must be talking about Antiform. No wonder he's so tired."

"Antiform?" Roxas echoed. Flustered, Flora bustled to the door, turning around to face them.

"Come, dears. Let's talk downstairs." She led the group out of the room and down the stairs. Kairi, about to follow the red-clad fairy, paused at the doorway when she noticed Riku. He stood just on the other side of the doorway, looking back at Sora as if not quite comfortable with leaving him alone. With a soft smile, she gently touched his shoulder.

"He'll be okay, Riku. Don't worry."

* * *

Mickey, Flora, Riku, and Goofy sat around the small table in the room on the lower floor. Merriweather, Kairi, Roxas, and Donald were just outside the original circle, placed so that everyone could see pretty much everyone else. Fauna bustled around, refusing to sit until everyone had been fed and supplied with a cup of tea. With a sigh, the red-clad fairy sat back, setting her teacup down.

"You asked about Antiform?" She inquired. When several heads around the circle nodded, her head also dipped in response. "The Drive Form magic has its drawbacks. Positive energy is used to power the forms in use, all except Final Form, and when a large quantity of positive energy cannot be found – which is often the case – the magic draws on neutral energy and uses what it can, leaving negative energy. If too much of this negative energy builds up, it can meddle with the Drive process. Because of Sora's short time as a Heartless, this meddling takes on a specific form."

"Antiform." Kairi finished. Flora nodded at her, recognizing that she understood.

"When Final Form is used, it will draw on any energy it can get ahold of, and so it burns away the negative energy and then moves on to whatever else is available...including Sora's own life energy, if there is nothing else. One of the reasons why it shouldn't be used often."

Riku sat forward, resting his elbows on the table (much to Fauna's chagrin). "I remember once, when we were talking about his Drive Forms, he said that Final Form was always very tiring." He remarked. "He doesn't use it very often, although he did say it was cool when he did." A soft grin touched his lips. Merriweather couldn't help but giggle quietly. Flora glanced towards the stairs, smiling fondly.

"Yes, that sounds like something Sora would say." She admitted.

"So, you're saying that if he uses Final Form every once in a while, this won't happen." Roxas clarified.

Merriweather nodded. "That's right. It'll get rid of the built-up dark energy so that it doesn't muddle the other Forms."

"He probably knows that by now, dears. I think he just hasn't used his Drive Forms in a while, and so he's forgotten that he's supposed to keep track of the build-up." Fauna, satisfied at last that everyone had been served, finally sank into a chair next to Kairi.

Flora got to her feet, looking around to take in the group of guests before her. "Please, all of you. Feel free to stay as long as you need. You all are welcome in our home." She curtseyed to all those seated around the table before she hurried off, obviously needing to keep herself busy.

Sensing that the silver-haired teen was a little edgy now that the conversation was over, Kairi gently touched his shoulder. "Do you want to go up and sit with Sora, Riku?" She asked softly. He looked up at her in surprise before he shrugged a little.

"I don't know." He sighed, looking down at his hands. "There's just something about this place...not this house, but this world in general, that's familiar. I haven't been here before...but the _feeling_ of this place is familiar. I've been around someone from this world before. And given who the people - other than you guys - I've been hanging out with recently are, that makes me uneasy."

"Welp, if you're that worried about it, Riku, then you might as well go up and sit with Sora. It'll make you feel better, won't it? To know that he's okay?" Mickey canted his head.

With another tiny sigh, Riku realized they were right. A half-smile touched his lips. "All right. I'm going." He relented, pulling himself to his feet. He disappeared up the stairs.

Kairi smiled, watching him leave. _'I don't think he quite realizes how obvious he is.'_ She mused. _'I think the only person who hasn't picked up on it is Roxas, and that's because he doesn't really know Riku all that well.'_ She glanced around a little, catching sight of Donald and Goofy, who were bickering as always. She grinned. _'Or maybe Donald and Goofy, too.'_

_'I wonder how long it will take before Sora figures it out?'_

* * *

It was dark.

That was the first thing Sora remembered thinking. He lifted his head, his eyes opening slowly, but that didn't help a whole lot. There was a square of moonlight shining in from the open window nearby, but other than that there wasn't any light in the room.

_'How did I get here?' _He wondered, looking around. _'Where is this place, anyway?'_

He remembered the woods, and the Heartless. He'd called on Goofy, he recalled, to drive to Valor Form so he could help get rid of all the Heartless they'd run into. But what had happened after that?

There was a figure curled up in a chair next to the bed he was laying in. He stared at them, wondering which of his friends it was; it wasn't Riku or Roxas, the hair wasn't light enough for either of them. When a moonbeam reflected reddish pink light off the person's hair, he realized it was Kairi. As if she could feel the weight of his gaze, she stirred, waking. Her blue eyes glinted in the dim light as she looked around.

"Sora?" She asked softly. He smiled.

"Hey, Kairi." He replied. "What happened? Where are we?"

Kairi giggled. "We're in a cottage, in the woods we were in. You drove to Antiform by accident, Sora." She explained. "You collapsed on us when it was over and scared the hell out of us all."

When she said Antiform, Sora moaned and touched a hand to his head. "Oh, man, no wonder. I'm sorry." He apologized. "I completely forgot to warn you guys. How is everyone? Did I hurt anyone?"

Kairi shook her head. "Of course you didn't. It was a little creepy, but that's all."

"I'll take your word for it."

With a grin, the redheaded girl sat forward, gently touching Sora's arm. "Are you hungry? I think there's still some soup left over from dinner. I can go get some for you if you want."

Sora grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Could you?"

"I'll be right back." Kairi smiled as she left the room, creeping down the stairs so she wouldn't wake anyone. Her efforts were in vain, however, because when the bottommost step creaked, a silver-topped head rose from the couch.

"Kairi?"

"Oops." She winced. "I'm sorry, Riku. I didn't mean to wake you." Carefully, she stepped over Donald and Goofy, who were curled up on the floor near the stairs. As she crept over to the fireplace, Riku sat up.

"What're you doing down here?" He asked softly, raking his fingers through his hair.

"I came down to get a bowl of soup for Sora." She explained. At the mention of the brunet teen, Riku seemed to wake up all the way.

"Is he okay?" He asked.

Kairi giggled quietly. "Go up and ask him yourself." She replied. "He's awake."

A tiny smile, touched faintly with relief, tugged at the silver-haired teen's lips. He slipped off the couch and stepped around Roxas' makeshift bed, carefully making his way over to the stairs.

He stopped at the top of the staircase, looking into the darkened room. It took a second for his eyes to adjust, but soon enough he caught sight of Sora, leaning back against the pillows of the bed, head turned slightly as he looked out the window. What little light shone in the window gilded his skin and hair with silver, giving him an odd, washed-out sort of look. The tiniest of smiles toyed with his lips as he gazed out at the night, blue eyes fixed on something Riku couldn't see.

Relief. A soft breath left the silver-haired teen, and his eyes closed momentarily. A knot of tension that had been balling itself up in his chest abruptly fell apart and melted away. Where the knot had been, a soft humming sensation started up in his chest, a not-entirely-unpleasant feeling that he vaguely remembered from all that time he spent in the Old Mansion, watching over Sora's sleeping form in the pod.

The sigh drew Sora's attention, and he glanced up at the door. "Kairi?" He called, softly. "Is that you?"

Riku laughed quietly. "No." He replied, walking in and taking the redhead's vacated seat. "She's still getting you food. I figured I should come up while she was busy."

"Oh. Hey, Riku." Sheepish, Sora sat up, rubbing the back of his head as he grinned. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He leaned forward, gently ruffling the teen's soft spikes. "How're you feeling?"

The brunet chuckled a little. "I'm okay. I guess I just needed a rest after Antiform. I usually do...it's exhausting. I'm just glad nothing happened to you guys while I was out of commission."

Riku scoffed, typically cocky. "We can take care of ourselves, you know." He reminded the younger Keybearer.

"Well, yeah. I know _that_." Sora protested. "That doesn't mean I can't worry."

A soft voice came from the doorway. "It's sweet of you to worry, Sora, but I thought that was _my_ job." With a tiny grin, Kairi came back into the room, a bowl on a plate in her hands. The brunet grinned.

"You can share."

With a giggle, she sat down on the edge of the bed, setting the plate on her lap. "Well, I suppose." She relented. "But how about you start to help lessen _my_ worry a little and eat something?"

Sora chuckled. "I kinda need the bowl if I'm going to eat."

It was quiet for a few minutes after Kairi handed over the remnants of the soup from dinner. After a few moments, Sora looked up, surprised to see that they were both watching him. "What?" He asked, blinking.

Kairi and Riku exchanged glances. "Nothing, really." The redhead assured him. "I think we're just reassuring ourselves that you're really okay."

"I think you would have been just as worried if one of us suddenly turned into a Heartless version of ourselves and ripped a dozen Heartless to pieces with our bare hands." Riku added, one brow arched wryly. Sora blinked again, startled now rather than surprised.

"Is that really what I look like?" He asked.

"You go black all over and have yellow eyes. Sora, what would that look like to _you_?"

The brunet winced. "I never knew that." He admitted. "I've never seen Antiform before, and there's never been anyone around to see it and tell me."

Kairi blinked at him. "You've never seen it before?" She asked. Sora shook his head.

"It's almost like I...I tune out, when I go Antiform." He explained. "I don't ever remember what happens while I'm in Antiform. I'm not sure why...it's almost like I regress or something. I don't need to think; I need to _react_. So I don't remember anything." He shrugged a little. "To be honest, if it's really as creepy as you guys say, I don't think I _want_ to be able to remember." As he set the spoon down again and yawned, Kairi giggled a little and took the bowl from him.

"Go back to bed, you." She ordered. "We'll see you in the morning, okay?"

Sora smiled. "I'll try." He replied, leaning back against the pillows. "G'night, guys."

"'Night, Sora." Riku smirked slightly, ruffling the younger teen's hair. He then stood, following Kairi out of the room and back down the stairs. Quietly, the redheaded girl shut the door, then tiptoed down the stairs and around the sleeping figures on the floor. She gently set the dishes in her hands in the washtub, then crept over to the couch, where Riku had lain down again.

"Hey. Mind if I sit?"

Blinking in surprise, the silver-haired teen pulled himself into a sitting position, making room for the girl on the couch. "Sure, Kairi. What is it?"

Kairi sent him a secret, knowing sort of smile. "How long, Riku?"

"What?" The inquiry caught him off-guard. _'What does she mean by that?'_

Her smile broadened, as if by his noncommittal answer he confirmed her suspicions. She canted her head slightly to indicate the upstairs, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her arms on them. "Sora, Riku. You've been antsy all day unless you've either been sitting with him, or known for a fact that he was okay." Her eyes softened. "And it's not just today, either. So how long has it been?"

He stared at her, momentarily stunned. Damn it, the girl saw _far_ too much. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he remembered that she always had. "I don't know for sure." He admitted. "I only really began to realize it after we got separated...after he and King Mickey sealed Kingdom Hearts. I...I had a lot of time to myself, to think." He looked down at his hands. "And then after I met DiZ, and I took on Ansem's face...at first I felt like it was a penance. You know, like it was something I had to do to make up for betraying him before. But then..." Taking a moment, he couldn't help but laugh. "You know I've always been...kind of arrogant. Proud of myself...of the way I look, the way I dress, the way I fight. But I was willing to give it all up, to make sure that Sora was alive, and whole, and able to go back to you." He gave a tiny smirk as Kairi giggled. "Because, of course, that's how it was supposed to work."

"But instead, he went looking for _you_." The redhead's brows arched. "Because he couldn't come back home without his best friend."

Riku shook his head, fighting a smile. "He's an idiot."

Kairi giggled. "Of course. That's half the reason we love him, isn't it?" When the silver-haired teen didn't respond, she nudged his arm gently. "Right?"

"I guess you're right."

* * *

When they left the cottage the next morning, the fairies waved kerchiefs from the windows of the cottage as if sending them off to some glorious and dangerous war. Sora couldn't help laughing at the thought, and tried to imagine it; himself, Riku, Roxas, King Mickey, Donald and Goofy in old-time knights' armour on horses, with Kairi riding sidesaddle in one of those long, fancy dresses.

"What?" Riku inquired, arching a brow at him. Sora shook his head.

"Nothing. Just...thinking."

The walk through the woods was pleasant and uneventful, especially after the Antiform disaster of the day before. There were small pockets of Heartless, but nothing as substantial as the pack from the previous day.

And the sight of the castle through the trees made Kairi sigh.

It was the lighter of the two castles portrayed on the Navi-Gummi. Tall and spindly, with thin towers and a grand drawbridge over a cleft in the main path to the castle. Brilliantly-coloured banners flew from every spire.

"Think that's where we're trying to go, guys?" Sora asked with a grin. Riku smirked.

"No, Sora. We're headed for the _other_ castle. You know, the one _behind_ this one."

He laughed when Sora turned to him, confused for a split second before the sarcasm hit him. "I don't see a- oh, you're an _ass_, Riku." He pouted when everyone began to laugh. "You guys are so _mean_."

"But you love us, don't you, Sora?" Kairi batted her eyelashes at him. "Just like we love you." Her eyes then twinkled Riku's way. "Right, Riku?"

He caught the emphasis and knew what her intentions were before the words even came out of her mouth. "If you say so, Kairi." He replied mildly, just to get her to glare at him.

"Y'know, we're not exactly doing much good out here." Mickey commented pointedly. "Let's go and see Aurora, shall we?"

* * *

"The visitors, Your Highness."

"Thank you, Robert." Princess Aurora set her embroidery aside and stood, dusting the bits of silk off her skirts. Once she was satisfied that she looked presentable, she walked into her sitting room to greet the new arrivals. At the sight of those 'visitors', she gasped.

"Keybearer!"

"Hi, Princess Aurora." Sora waved a little, a smile on his face. "How are you doing?"

The blonde princess turned to her chamberlain. "Leave us. These are dear friends, and honored guests."

The young man bowed and left, though Kairi noticed out of the corner of her eye that he didn't quite close the door all the way. There was a crack in the doorway about an inch wide.

"It's wonderful to see you, Keybearer Sora." Aurora sank into an ornately carved chair, gesturing to the rest of the room. "Please, everyone, sit."

As always, Riku hung back, preferring to get his encounter with this Princess of Heart over and done with. When she caught sight of him, it took her a moment before she glanced Sora's way, a spark of something unsettled in her eyes.

"It's okay." He smiled. "Princess, meet my best friend, Riku."

The blonde princess' look of uncertainty vanished, replaced by a warm smile. "Of course. Please, take a seat."

As he did so, a maid came in from another room with a tray of small delicacies. With a curtsey, she left the room again. Another brought in a workbasket full of thread in rainbow colours and some thin cloth, before leaving the same way the first did. Watching them, Aurora gave a soft, almost-exasperated sigh.

"To answer your question, Sora, I'm doing just fine." She replied. "I'm not quite used to all of this fluttering and fussing over me, but otherwise, everything is wonderful."

Goofy blinked at her. "You're not used to bein' waited on, Princess?"

"I remember the story." Mickey chuckled. "Your parents hid you away when you were just a baby, right, Princess?"

The blonde nodded. "I was raised as a peasant maiden. I would be much more comfortable in the kitchen or the laundry." She shook her head, a tiny smile on her lips. "The maids were appalled when I walked into the scullery and asked if there was anything I could do to help."

"I can imagine." Kairi giggled.

Glancing the redhead's way, Aurora smiled again. "Phillip laughs whenever I do something like that. I think it's wonderful that he doesn't mind a princess able to cook her own meals and clean her own chamber."

Roxas blinked at her. "Really?"

"He fell in love with Briar Rose the peasant maiden." She explained with a chuckle. "He doesn't at all mind when she comes back every once in a while."

Sora grinned. "That's awesome."

"Now, if only you could get the servants to feel the same way." Mickey laughed.

"_Exactly_. It's so wonderful to be understood." Aurora sat back, looking the seven of them over curiously. "Now, Keybearer, have you come because of the Heartless?"

"Well, we didn't actually know the Heartless were still active here." The brunet teen admitted. "We really just came to visit. But since they're a problem, we might as well take care of it while we're here."

"You'll do us a service if you can."

Surprised, everyone looked to the door, where a young man with sandy brown hair stood in a black-and-red outfit. Walking forward, he took the blonde princess into his arms.

"I felt I must come up and meet your guests, Aurora." He explained.

Aurora smiled. "Prince Phillip, meet the Keybearer, Sora, and his dear friends."

"Hello, Your Highness." Sora reached out and took the prince's hand when it was offered. Phillip gave a warm smile.

"So, you're the famous Keybearer."

The brunet teen blinked. "Famous? Me?"

"That's the second time someone's said that to you, Sora." Riku couldn't help remarking with a smirk, earning himself a glare.

Philip chuckled, taking a seat for himself near Aurora. "I heard your offer for assistance with the Heartless. We're honored that you all are taking such a personal interest in our safety." His cheerful manner dimmed somewhat. "We've been holding them off as best as we can, but it's taken lives from the village, lives that will be needed during the summer harvest."

Sora drew a troubled frown. "The Heartless have been killing people?"

"Using them to bolster their own numbers, or perhaps for a purpose no one has guessed yet. We have no way to be sure."

"Where have they been comin' from? D'you know?" Mickey asked. Philip glanced down at the tiny mouse king, but to his credit he didn't flinch.

"Some of those who have come back have said the Heartless fled towards the Forbidden Mountain." He explained.

Riku's eyes narrowed. "The Forbidden Mountain?" He echoed, something odd in his voice. Both Sora and Kairi glanced at him curiously.

"We should probably go check it out, then, right, guys?" Roxas didn't seem to have noticed anything funny. Sora gave a distracted nod.

"Yeah, probably." He replied, looking back at Philip. "How can we get there?"

The sand-haired prince gave a relieved smile. "The Three Good Fairies would know best. I have travelled that way only once; and I was rather distracted at the time." He smiled warmly at his wife, who looked down with a soft smile of her own. "They live in a cottage in the-" He cut himself off when he glanced back to see the Keybearers looking at each other with grins on their faces. "I suppose you have already been to see them."

"Ahyuk, yup, that's right!" Goofy chuckled. "We went to see them when we got attacked by the Heartless in the woods."

"Well, then. I suppose you are well on your way." Phillip came forward, hand outstretched. "Thank you, Keybearer. We still are not entirely used to dealing with the Heartless after all this time. Your assistance is very much appreciated."

Sora mimicked the gesture, shaking the prince's hand again. "We're glad to help, Prince Philip."

* * *

I always thought the Drive Gauge depletion should tire Sora out. So since it's been a little while since he went Antiform, I took it to an extreme :D I adore Antiform. I think the idea is so cool. It doesn't happen too often, but when it does, it's so epiiiiiiiic! -heart- Except for the fact that you can't use the Keyblade, items, or reaction commands. That kinda sucks. But everything else is so cool! -gushes like the fangirl she is, lol-

Anyway...

So, thus is chapter 21. I can't wait to see your guys' reactions! :D

Love,

Ivy J.


	22. Chapter 22

The quick 'update before work' thing. Success! :D I'm working, like, alllllll day today. It's so unfortunate. But that's okay! :D It means more money. And a full-hour lunch. Which means I'll have some time to write. Not much, but some. Which I'll really need; I'm in danger of falling behind again, dratted beginning chapters. Grrrr .

I'll post another Snippet next update, though. You'll get some uber-Sorikuness with that. Unfortunately, we're just not at the right point in this one. That's what Snippets is for, though. :D

Arear: It's okay, sweetie, I disappeared too, lol. I was expecting plenty of people to leave and not come back. I loved Sleeping Beauty too, though I think Belle and Jasmine take places ahead of Aurora on my "favourite princesses" list. And actually, you will get answers to your questions, lol. One of them I have actually already answered; go back and re-read Chapter 15, lol. Part of your answer is there. And killing? What else would you call it, when the Heartless take hearts from people? Most of them aren't strong-willed enough to return as Nobodies, and the Heartless is nothing but instinct. Unless you're Sora, or Xehanort, lol.

LupinandHarry: OMG, I love Antiform. I do. It's epic and wonderful, lol. And occasionally really useful for AU fics and character/plot development, lol. And I'll admit, it's a little weird to _write_ Sora cursing. But he's fifteen, for heaven's sake! XD Besides, I've discovered in my other writings, when he gets upset or angry, Riku can get a little mouthy. I imagine Sora probably picked up a little from him. Considering, you know, they were _living_ together at the beginning of the fic, along with Kairi...

Lavender Phantom Flame: Yeah, I laughed a good long time when I saw your first review, lol. I was like, "Wow. Has she been spying somehow? XD" And who better, if not the faeries who actually_ created_ the magic? I've got plans to visit Snow White, too, although I think Birth By Sleep might mess with those a little. Oh well. I'll post it anyway. XD

Agatsuma Ritsuka: Yay ^_^ Thank you!

Rose93darkness: You guys are all so mean to Kairi TT_TT lol. Besides, as you'll see today, she doesn't mind so much. In fact, she rather enjoys the idea of these two herself.

calmxbeforexthexstorm: It's coming! Getting ever-closer! I swear!

Naruta13: He _does_ have a right to be smug, lol. He just can't. He's too good-hearted to _really_ pull it off, lol. ^_^ Thank you for your comments!

FrostFromFire: My Kairi was actually inspired by someone else's, lol. .project107 wrote an amazing Soriku/Akuroku/Zemyx/Cleon AU entitled "Water", which is absolutely fantastic when it comes to Rikai!Friendship. Her Kairi is hilarious and evil. I loved her. So I tried to model her accordingly, although I like to think mine is juuuust a little more underhanded (which is a term I really like, btw. XD). Hers is really blatant about the whole thing, but then again, R/S kinda knew they were into each other by that point anyway, so there wasn't much point in being underhanded about anything, lol.

Aniuwolfe: Yeah, Riku's not too happy at how easily he's being read. He's just gonna have to get used to it. I'm convinced he's a Scorpio, lol. It's spooky how well he fits the profile. I really wish Nomura would release profiles for them all. It would make my writing _so_ much easier, lol. And hyper is good, lol. Hyper is very good. I don't mind hyper at all. :D

Eeeek. I need to ruuuuuuun . I hate having to be at work early. Oh well. I'll be expecting lots of reviews when I get home! :D

* * *

The second they crossed under the archway that was the doorway to the stone palace, the hairs on the back of Sora's neck rose. The feeling resonating from the very stones was eerily familiar, but he was having some difficulty placing it.

"Flora!" He called ahead. The red-clad fairy stopped and turned, curious.

"What is it, Sora?" She asked.

He stared up at the structure before them, looking rather pensive. "Who lived in this castle?"

The look in Flora's eyes suddenly turned grim. "I think you know, Sora." She answered. "You know her well."

He suddenly froze, eyes wide and stunned. He looked up at the castle again, mouth slack. "You...you mean...this was..."

"Maleficent." Riku seemed to be able to say what Sora couldn't. He looked around, his eyes narrowed. "This was Maleficent's castle. Before she met the Heartless and went after Kingdom Hearts."

"She was the one who cursed Aurora." Fauna confirmed. "When she was born, King Stefan and the Queen held a party to celebrate, and they didn't invite Maleficent."

"Not surprising." Merriweather muttered under her breath, surprising Riku when her irate comment mirrored his own thoughts. She was quickly hushed by Flora, who continued to explain where Fauna had left off.

"Maleficent came anyway, and she cast a spell on Aurora that said someday before the sun set on her sixteenth birthday, she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. But Merriweather fixed it a little; she changed the curse into a sleeping spell."

The blue-clad fairy flushed a soft pink when everyone turned to look at her in surprise. "I had to." She insisted. "King Stefan and the Queen were so happy to finally have a child. And Flora and Fauna had already given her their gifts...I was the only one left."

"She must've been pleased when she discovered Aurora was a Princess of Heart." The sardonic comment leapt from Riku's lips before he could help it. "She didn't even need to go anywhere."

"How did she learn about the Heartless?" Kairi asked. Flora shook her head.

"We don't know." Was the answer she gave as they passed into the entrance hall of the castle. "There were travellers like you who came here at around the same time...perhaps one of them mentioned the Heartless."

Fauna blinked in surprise, suddenly looking at Roxas. "You know, you look exactly like one of them." She realized aloud. "I don't remember his name, but he was here with two friends...a boy and a girl."

"You know, I never liked the look of that boy." Merriweather's brows furrowed in a frown when Flora shushed her. "The one that came along with the other boy you're talking about. He always seemed very dark to me."

"Speaking of darkness," Kairi suddenly sounded rather nervous. "Am I the only one who can feel a lot of it right around this area?" Waving a hand around, she turned to take in their surroundings, a somewhat queasy look on her face. "I think we're getting close to the source of the Heartless."

"I think I agree." Everyone turned in surprise to Riku, who nodded towards one of the room's exits. "But they're not paying attention to us."

A Shadow, sunk into the ground as if to avoid notice, slid past them and under the indicated door. Two more, accompanied by a Neoshadow, crept towards the opening before flattening themselves and sliding out of sight. Sora's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Are they...gathering? Like a meeting?" He wondered aloud. "I've never really seen Heartless do that before. Could something be calling them?"

"Neither have I." Mickey agreed. "And y'could be right...maybe we should check it out."

Donald squawked indignantly, chasing one of the Heartless down and following it to the door it disappeared under. Reaching out, he dragged the door open and peered inside.

When they followed, Sora got a sinking feeling of deja vu, and he imagined Donald and Goofy felt the same. The scene was reminiscent of the Groundshaker Heartless coming together from all the ghosts of Scar. Dozens of Shadows and Neoshadows from all over the castle were combining in front of the throne that sat at the highest point of the room. They coalesced to form a shape: tall, thin and familiar.

"Maleficent!" Sora cried in alarm, the Keyblade materializing in his hand. The three faeries that accompanied them suddenly disappeared into tiny orbs of red, green and blue light, flitting around their heads like multicoloured fireflies.

Goofy, though, canted his head in an odd way at the figure above them. "Uh, Sora? I don't think it's really Maleficent."

"It isn't dark enough." Riku confirmed. "It's a copy of some sort."

The Essence of Turmoil appeared in Roxas' hands. "Well, that just means it's going to be easier to defeat, right?" He figured aloud. "So come on!"

The moment they all entered the room, the doors clanged shut behind them. As if drawn by the noise, the shadow-Maleficent turned, her eyes glowing with green. She raised her staff, and a rain of fire pelted down on them all. Mickey managed to dodge, but everyone else got slightly singed before Kairi thought to cast Reflega. The moment the rain stopped, the spell faded and was followed up by a quick round of Curaga.

Sora's face set in that look of intense concentration he always wore when fighting. He jumped, somersaulting in midair to reach the platform with the throne. Shadow-Maleficent turned, her face twisted in a snarl.

As he came close, she reached out and grabbed his ankle, using his momentum to throw him away. He went tumbling away from her, curled up in a ball. The second he managed to stop, he whirled back to her and shot Blizzard spells in her face. Those, coupled with the strikes when he got back to his feet, pushed her back far enough that she tumbled into the centre of the room, shrieking.

Getting to her feet, Shadow-Maleficent flung everyone away from her with a ring of green flame. Quick thinking from Kairi and Donald made sure everyone else was spared again, although it was a near thing.

More green fire encircled Maleficent's Shadow, and she raised her staff into the air. A rain of Dark Aura interrupted her from one side, then a similar pelting of Pearls slammed into her back when she turned to face Riku. Obviously losing her temper, she whipped around again, a snake of green extending from her fingers and wrapping around the nearest target; Roxas. He frantically tried to sever the connection, but it was too late. A current travelled down the rope, enveloping him in yellow-green lightning. His screams rang against the stone until Goofy flung his shield and severed the rope, cutting the flow of energy off. Another Cure, this one from the fairies, pulled him back to his feet, though he was still shaky and hesitant enough to not get too close.

Shadow-Maleficent's next move was to summon a horde of Shadows and Neoshadows, sending them at the seven fighters. The blue ball of light that was Merriweather shot azure swirls of light at several of them, causing them to rather abruptly explode into puffs of white mist. Tiny, squeaking shouts erupted from Flora, who had been hovering almost worriedly above Sora's head, watching as he dodged and wove through the Heartless, intent on getting rid of Maleficent's Shadow. With her gone, he knew the other Heartless would disappear.

"Sora!" He heard Mickey shout. He halted almost instinctively and turned; the King was somersaulting over Heartless to follow him. When he saw the tiny mouse was going to overshoot and fly past him, he reached out, grabbing his hand and redirecting him towards their opponent. He then followed, lunging forward with a grin.

Maleficent's Shadow tried her electric-whip thing again, though Roxas' earlier experience left him wary enough to Reflect it away when she tried to snag him with it. Her furious shriek sounded so inhuman that it sent chills up his spine. Taking advantage of the momentary break, he ran forward, burying the Keyblade in Shadow-Maleficent's side.

She shrieked in pain, and a wall of fire shot up to surround her, causing Sora to yelp in surprise and yank away. The fire grew so intense he felt like his skin tightened over his bones from the heat.

And then it dissipated, and Maleficent's Shadow was no more.

He looked up to see that Riku had attacked her from behind at about the same time. He was breathing heavily, eyes narrowed practically to slits, but relaxed when he realized she was gone. As he looked around, the chilling aura seemed to lift from the castle, turning it from spooky hideout of darkness to just a mildly creepy ruin. Sora walked over, clapping a hand on his shoulder with a grin.

"You okay?"

He nodded, blowing out a breath. "Yeah."

The brunet nodded back. "Good." He declared, then left, hurrying over to Roxas to make sure the blond was okay. He was still a little shaky from Shadow-Maleficent's electrified whip, but he waved Sora's offer of help off.

"C'mon, everyone." Mickey hurried over to the door, pulling it open. "Let's go let Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip know everything's okay again."

* * *

The princess and her husband were in a small parlour off the Great Hall when they returned. Aurora was working again on the cloth they'd seen her with earlier, nimbly stitching designs in with rainbow colours. Phillip, conversely, was playing chess with Aurora's father, King Stefan. All three of them looked up in surprise when the Keybearers entered. Taken somewhat off-guard, it took a second for Sora to bow to the King.

"The Heartless shouldn't bother you again." He explained, telling them about Maleficent's Shadow. "I think that was the only thing keeping them here."

"They might return, but only because your princess is also a Princess of Heart." Riku interjected. "They won't come back in the numbers you've been seeing until now."

"Wonderful. Thank you all, so much." Aurora set her embroidery aside with a warm smile. "I'm so happy to see that you've all returned safely."

Phillip sent his wife a sidelong glance. "I think I might have to slay another dragon to keep from being upstaged." He teased her, watching as she flushed. "Although I, too, am quite pleased to know that you've solved things. I've half a mind to knight you all right here."

Sora grinned. "I like that idea." He admitted.

Roxas elbowed his side. "Maybe another time, if he's still thinking he should." The blond countered. "We have keys to find."

His Somebody pouted, remarkably like a two-year-old. "Man, Roxas, you're no fun."

"Someone has to balance you out." He retorted. "You're _too much_ fun."

Not-so-gently prodding the boys, Kairi nudged them towards the door. "I think we've overstayed our welcome a little." She apologized, dipping a half-curtsey to King Stefan on their way out. "We'll come back to check in, though, another time. Be on the watch!"

Aurora giggled. "Of course. Be safe, everyone."

Her voice came again to stop Riku on his way out. He blinked in surprise at her as she came up, handing him a flexible branch of thorns. Hanging from the end was a deep red rose.

"What's this?" He inquired. She smiled warmly at him, much as she had after Sora had soothed her fears when they'd first arrived.

"A gift." She replied simply. "Not only from I, but from the Three Good Fairies as well. We wished to thank you for your continued efforts against the darkness."

His gaze shot towards the door. "I help Sora out as much as I can."

She giggled. "I believe your presence helps him more than you might think it does." She curtseyed to him, swiftly. "Have a safe journey. I hope, whatever quest you all are on, it will end in triumph."

Nodding his agreement, the silver-haired teen pocketed the gift. "They'll probably be wondering where I am. I should go." He glanced towards the door again.

"Of course." She stepped away. "We will look forward to your return."

* * *

"It looks like a keychain." Sora gently tugged the gift from Riku's hands when he showed it to the Keyblade Master, summoning Oathkeeper in his other hand. It was only then that he shot a hesitant look at the elder teen. "Is it okay if I try?"

Riku shrugged. "Go ahead." He sat back on the bed, watching as Sora unhooked the Oathkeeper chain from his Keyblade and attached the new one. There was a pause, as if the Keyblade needed time to decide whether it liked the new chain or not, but then a transparent image overlaid the Kingdom Key's form.

It was shorter than either the Kingdom Key or Oathkeeper. A cluster of thorns formed the blade, attached to a sturdy branch. Along the shaft were three glowing dots; red, blue and green. The hilt began with an orb of yellow-green, from which two black horn-like protrusions became the handguard. The handle itself was a thin rod, wrapped with fine thread. A slim point on the end held the keychain in place.

Sora blinked at it curiously. "That's funny. I've never seen it do that before." He unhooked the keychain again, letting the Kingdom Key's form return before he hooked Oathkeeper back on. "Why don't you try it?"

The Way to the Dawn seemed to accept the new keychain a lot better than Sora's Keyblade had. Now that it was solid, it was easier to see the finer details of the new Keyblade.

It seemed darker in Riku's possession, though it didn't actually _look_ darker. Hair-thin, silver swirls surrounded the glowing dots on the shaft, glimmering in the light. Glancing between their weapons curiously, Sora canted his head.

"That's weird. Roxas and I can share keychains all right."

"Roxas' Keyblade was created from yours, Sora." Riku replied dryly. "Obviously mine isn't as compatible."

A rumble and a cry from the cockpit drew their attention. Sora was off in a flash, running in to see Kairi staring, white-faced, at the mass of purple out the screen. "I don't think we want to be going through that." She gulped. Nudging her aside, he sat down next to Goofy, tapping the keypad furiously.

"No, we don't. I don't think we have much choice, though." He replied tersely, groping with his free hand for the co-pilot's seatbelt. "You might want to go back into our room and try getting yourself into someplace small. We don't have enough space for everyone to be in the cockpit. And let King Mickey know we're going to need him out here."

She fled, informing Riku of the trouble when she passed him in the hallway. Grabbing the blanket off her bed, she wrapped herself up in it before wedging herself into the small space between the foot of her bed and the corner, watching as the silver-haired teen sat himself down behind the head of his bed. Donald, obviously realizing what they were doing, shut himself in the linen closet, and King Mickey shot her a thumbs-up before he hurried towards the cockpit, obviously approving of her secure space. Roxas came over, sitting down in front of her. "What's up?"

"We're headed into a storm. You might want to sit someplace where you're not going to bounce around too much." She told him. "I guess our best bet is to sit tight and hope everything ends up okay." Craning her neck slightly, she judged the amount of space she had left. "You can join me here, I think."

His lips twitched. "Good idea." He agreed, grabbing his own blanket and doing the same, just as the first rumblings shook the Gummi Ship. "Let's hope."

* * *

It took a long time after the ship stopped shaking for Sora to come back to check on them, looking completely exhausted. "We're limping back to Radiant Garden." He told them, sinking into a seat on the bed he shared with Riku and Roxas and running his hands through his already-wild hair. "We're down to one engine, and both the lasers got knocked out in the storm. I'm glad we haven't run into any Heartless ships yet, because if we do now, our best bet is to hide and hope they don't find us." Looking up, he glanced around. "You guys all okay?"

"We're fine, thanks to you guys." Kairi touched his shoulder reassuringly. "Go to sleep, Sora. You need it."

He shot her a wan smile. "I'm sure I look like crap." He admitted. "But thanks for not actually saying it that way."

She smiled. "You know I wouldn't." She told him. "But we might all start telling you if you don't get some rest."

With a soft laugh, he stretched out on the bed with a sigh. "Wake me up when we get to Radiant Garden, could you?"

"We will, Sora." Roxas called from the door, heading out to see if Goofy or the King needed relieving too. As Riku unfolded himself from the space behind the head of the bed, Kairi blew out a breath.

"I'm going to go with Roxas." She pointed out the door. "Do you want to keep an eye on Sora?"

He arched a brow at her, sardonically. "Kairi, what are you doing?"

Caught, she grinned sheepishly back. "Playing matchmaker, of course." She replied, to his astonishment. "Now go on. Sit with him. I'll be back in a little while."

And before he could protest, she vanished out the door, leaving him with the currently-sleeping Sora.

With a sigh, he glanced between the Keyblade Master and the door, trying to decide if he should take her advice and sit with him for a little while, or ignore it specifically to tell her he wasn't going to stand for her meddling. That was a bit of a tough decision.

Well, it's not as if he had anything else to go do, really.

So he relented and sat, though not on the bed. He sat himself down again in the corner he'd wedged himself into while they'd been in the storm, behind the headboard. The soft sounds of Sora's breathing met his ears, a soothing noise, like the ocean waves on the Islands.

* * *

He'd fallen asleep too, not realizing it until Kairi nudged him awake with her toe. Irritated by how easily she'd read him, he went to take a shift in the cockpit, much to Roxas' relief. And there he stayed until they reached Radiant Garden, being on watch for Heartless and Nobody ships keeping him distracted from the fact that he was taking this shift with Donald. He wasn't entirely certain Disney Castle's Court Wizard completely trusted him yet.

Not that he liked the typically-irate duck, at any rate, so it wasn't as if it truly mattered. But having something to concentrate on made things less awkward.

Especially since their travel speed had been halved by the storm.

The King came in to check on the periodically, as if he'd sensed the tension and wanted to make sure it didn't erupt into anything worse. Inwardly, he appreciated it; King Mickey was one of the few who could truly keep Donald in check. It wasn't as if he couldn't take care of himself, but he figured the King might get a little irritated at him if his Court Wizard came off his shift singed by black flame.

And Sora was rather fond of Donald, too. So that wasn't really recommended.

Instead of staying in orbit, as they usually did, they flew the Gummi Ship down into Hollow Bastion's postern, which was less likely to be harassed by anyone from Radiant Garden. Kairi obviously ducked into their room and woke Sora, because he came out after a little while, yawning and stretching.

"Let's go find Cid. He's probably at Merlin's."

* * *

Waiting was almost worse when one wasn't injured and healing, Riku mused, sitting in one of Merlin's comfortable chairs. With nothing to do while Cid, the King, Goofy and Donald repaired the ship, Kairi went shopping with Aerith, Sora went visiting and Yuffie and Leon took turns kicking Roxas' ass, he pulled a random book off the shelf and opened it.

The first page was painted in silver gilt and black script, with symbols dotted around the words; a flame, a lightning bolt, a shard of ice, a starburst, and a skull. Between then, the script was hard to read, but it only took him a few moments to decipher it.

_'Offensive Magic.'_ He read silently, brows furrowing. _'Also known as "Black", the Art of manipulating magical power to attack or affect those that threaten you. Contained within these pages are spells that harness some of the elements; Fire, Lightning, Ice, Light and Darkness. For those truly serious about the Art, spells altering aspects of life – health, awareness, and even death itself – can be found._

_Come. The magic awaits.'_

Wary – his curiosity had gotten him into trouble before – he flipped through. The first pages were on the spells he'd seen Donald and Sora using; Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, and their more powerful forms. Gravity came up next, which he remembered vaguely from the fight in the entrance hall of Radiant Garden's castle. Stop and Magnet, too, followed.

But after that, the tone of the spells stopped being familiar.

Poison, blinding, muting and slumber. Draining spells; taking your opponent's vitality or magic and making it your own. And a useful ability called Dispel, which, in the words of the text, _'removes the advantage of magic from your foes'_.

He was so absorbed in his reading that when the King called his name, it startled him. Mickey chuckled; he hadn't quite expected that.

"Could'ja maybe go with Roxas to see if you can find Sora? We should be goin', Cid's finished workin' on the Gummi Ship. It should be all fixed now."

"I-" Riku shook off the lingering distraction, rubbing at his eyes. "Yeah, sorry. I was-"

"Busy. I could tell. Learnin' a lot?"

"Enough." He replied, somewhat evasively. Carefully replacing the book on the shelf, he stood, stretching. He must have lost track of time; he was rather stiff from sitting in one place so long. "So, where are we going?"

"You and Roxas are gonna jump into the Winnie the Pooh book, so you can find Sora. Roxas kinda knows his way around, so I figure if you both go, you'll find Sora more quickly." The King rubbed his head sheepishly. "I would go, but-"

"You're needed here. I know." Riku's lips twitched wryly. "I'll tolerate Roxas for now. Don't worry. We still need him; I'll restrain myself from killing him."

The mouse king, by now quite used to Riku's dry and occasionally morbid sense of humor, laughed and shook a white-gloved finger at him. "You'd better."

"C'mon, Riku. Let's go find Sora." Roxas called, obviously not catching the conversation between the silver-haired teen and the tiny royal. Riku nodded, walking over him.

"All right. Where are we going?"

* * *

Blinking, Riku looked around. Several different trees seemed to have popped up from the creamy pages he stood on. Roxas half-grinned at him.

"I'm gonna go check over this way." He pointed to the second map page, which showed a clump of images that included a couple of treehouses and a moonlit hill. "We'll meet back here, okay?"

Riku shrugged, hooking his thumbs into his belt loops. "Sure, whatever." He replied. With a parting nod, Roxas took off, disappearing into the nearest image. Riku began to walk the opposite way.

Soon, his book surroundings transformed into a forest path. Warm green and gold light filtered through the canopy, giving the woods a welcoming feeling. A smile tugged at the silver-haired teen's lips. "I think I understand why Sora likes it here." He murmured softly to himself. The entire forest was imbued with a feeling of peace. He was certain that no Heartless had ever set foot on the pages of this book. With that thought, though, a slight stirring within him made him pause and scowl. '_Don't even think about it.'_ He hissed internally. When the darkness within him didn't move again, he continued to walk. The aura of the forest made him relax, but he made sure not to drop his guard completely.

A pair of birds flew past a couple of feet in front of his face, tweeting. If he let himself imagine, Riku could almost believe that they'd done it in greeting. After a moment, he shook his head, laughing at himself. '_I'm thinking like Sora again._' He mused wryly to himself. That was just the kind of thing Sora would assume.

Turning a bend in the path, he came across a home built into a tree trunk. The door, set into the wood, was surrounded by round pots of various colours, and two signs were nailed up around the doorframe. One, above the door, read "Mr. Sanders" in bright gold paint. The second was just below an iron bell hanging from the upper left corner. This one said "Rnig also". Riku arched a brow at it cynically.

"Okay, then." He murmured. Wandering around the house, he found a window on the wall around the corner. He peered in curiously, almost without thinking.

The house was comprised of one cozy room. More pots were piled in the corners, labelled "hunny", some with lids that oozed gold around the edges. To the left side of the window, behind the curtain, he could just barely see the end of a bed, with a familiar-looking yellow and black shoe sticking out from under the covers. He couldn't help but smile.

_'Obviously you didn't get enough rest on the way here, did you, Sora?'_ He thought, amused as he walked back around to the front. Knocking sharply, he waited for a few moments for any sort of response. When none came within a minute or so, he tried again, adding a short ring on the bell for good measure. When even that failed to attract any attention, he sighed. Touching the doorknob, he took ahold of it and twisted gently. To his surprise, the door was unlocked and opened with ease.

Slowly, carefully, Riku eased the door open, not wanting to startle any of the house's other occupants. He ducked down and stepped inside, just barely managing to avoid hitting his head on the rafters as he straightened. When he saw where Sora was, though, he paused, staring.

Sora lay fast asleep, curled up in the bed across from the door. A book lay open, spine up, on his chest, as if he'd been reading it when he fell into slumber. Cuddled at his side was a golden bear in a red shirt, his head resting on Sora's shoulder. On the brunet's other side, a tiny pink someone was curled up on that shoulder.

Riku felt his insides quite abruptly melt into a puddle of mush. Sora looked so..._peaceful_.

'_I wish I had a camera._' He mused, ruefully. _'I...I don't want to disturb him.'_

An odd warmth rose in his chest, accompanied by that pleasant humming that he associated with the brunet. How long he stood there and watched Sora sleep he didn't know, but it felt like an eternity before he shook it off and padded over to the bed, carefully avoiding the rafters threatening to thunk him in the head. Kneeling down, he gently shook the sleeping teen.

"Sora." He called. "C'mon, Sora. Wake up."

"Nngh?" The young sleeper stirred, azure eyes flicking half-open. He glanced around, meeting Riku's bemused turquoise irises after a moment or two. "Riku?" He asked drowsily.

Riku smiled softly. "Hey." He greeted. "I'm sorry I had to wake you, but Cid's finished working on the Gummi Ship. We have places to go."

"Oh..." Sora closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath before he pulled himself up into a sitting position. He put the book down on a nearby table, still spread open to the right page. The golden bear that had been sleeping at his side stirred, lifting its head and blinking its tiny black eyes. The little pink body on his other side unfolded itself, looking around. It squeaked when it saw Riku, ducking behind Sora.

"Oh, d-d-d-dear! S-Sora? I-Is that an-n-nother f-f-f-friend of yours?"

Riku, getting used to this reaction but not quite expecting it from the tiny pig, bit back a surprised chuckle. "Yeah, I'm a friend of Sora's." He held out a hand, two fingers extended. "My name is Riku."

"I-I'm s-s-sorry, R-Riku. I d-don't mean to be s-s-s-so f-frightened." The little pink animal crept out from behind Sora, cautiously taking ahold of Riku's fingers. "I'm P-P-Piglet."

A grin blossomed on the silver-haired teen's face. "It's nice to meet you, Piglet." He gently shook his fingers as if shaking hands with the tiny animal.

Sora watched this all with an incredulous smile. _'Wow.'_ He thought. _'I haven't seen Riku this..._open_...since we were little kids. Maybe coming here was good for him.'_ "Pooh Bear, meet my best friend Riku." He grinned at Riku, who sent him a lopsided smile back. "Riku, this is Winnie-the-Pooh."

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Riku." Pooh smiled up at the silver-haired teen, taking his hand when it was offered. "But does this mean you have to go again, Sora?"

"Yeah, it does, Pooh. I'm sorry." Sora gave the golden bear an apologetic smile. "But I'll come back soon, okay? We can finish the book another time." He gently drew Pooh into a one-armed hug. Pooh smiled at him.

"I'd like that very much, Sora."

Sora glanced at Riku and grinned again. "And maybe I'll bring my friends along again next time, seeing as they seem to like the Hundred-Acre Wood almost as much as I do."

Riku laughed softly. "Maybe." He stood up to his full height, narrowly missing clunking his head on a rafter again. Sora fought a grin.

"Careful, Riku. I think you're a little tall for this place."

"Oh, d-d-dear. You're very very t-t-tall indeed, Riku." Piglet gulped a little. "I th-th-think I would be s-scared to b-b-be as tall as y-you are."

"You get used to it." He assured Piglet, fighting a chuckle. Piglet simply grimaced, covering his face with his ears as Sora slipped off the bed and stretched. He grinned at Piglet and Pooh.

"I guess that means I've got to go now, guys. I'll see you later." He waved, ducking out Pooh's front door.

"Will you come back too, Riku?" Pooh asked, slowing the silver-haired teen's exit. He paused at the door, contemplating that.

"I think so." He replied, smiling at the two sitting on the bed. Pooh smiled back.

"How wonderful. Goodbye, Riku."

Riku nodded, following Sora out. A second after crossing the threshold, he heard a warning shout from the brunet, but it came a moment too late as something orange, black, and cream bowled him over.

"Hello, I'm Tigger! Tee-Eye-Double-Guh-Err! That spells Tigger!"

Roxas came running up the forest path, slightly out of breath, followed by a young kangaroo dressed in a little blue shirt. At the sight of a rather stunned-looking Riku pinned under Tigger's enthusiastic greeting, Keyblade in hand, he began to laugh. "Well, we found you!"

"Say, is this funny-lookin' fellow with the cloud-hair the one you're lookin' for, Roxy-boy?" Tigger asked, looking over his shoulder as he pointed down at Riku. Roxas grinned.

"Yeah, that's the one. Thanks a lot, Tigger." He bit back another laugh as Tigger proceeded to hop off Riku's chest and start bouncing around on his tail, holding his toes. Roo hopped over to the bouncing Tigger.

"Wow, Tigger! That was amazing!" He grinned. "You bounced him from almost all the way down the path! Can you teach _me_ to bounce like that?"

Riku rubbed the back of his head as he sat up, dismissing his Keyblade and looking the slightest bit annoyed. "Funny-looking? _Cloud-hair_?"

Tigger laughed. He stopped bouncing and landed on his feet, taking ahold of a clump of Riku's hair and tugging on it a little. "Sure! See?" He pointed at the lock of hair, then at the big, fluffy clouds passing overhead. "It's the colour of the clouds! Cloud-hair!"

Sora couldn't help the grin as Riku winced, then rubbed the abused spot on his scalp gingerly. "You've officially been welcomed to the Hundred-Acre Wood, Riku. Congratulations." He gently clapped the silver-haired teen on the shoulder. Riku shot him a half-glare.

"Couldn't you have _told_ me about that little initiation rite?" He asked, although he didn't seem quite as annoyed now as he had before. Sora's grin took on a sheepish tone.

"If I'd known he was there, I might have warned you ahead of time. I tried to give you a heads-up, but he was too quick for me."

Roxas grinned. "I didn't mean for him to do _that_, but you have to admit, it was pretty funny."

"Ohh." Riku's half-glare switched to Roxas. "So it's all _your_ fault, is it? I knew it."

The blond rubbed the back of his head. "I guess you could say that, yeah." He looked over at Tigger, who was happily bouncing around Pooh's front yard again. "Thanks a lot for your help, Tigger. You can go back to your bouncing now."

"Sure thing, Roxy-boy! Come back and bounce with us sometime, huh?" But Tigger didn't wait for a response, leading Roo back down the path.

Riku arched a brow at the blond. "Roxy-boy?" He asked. Roxas' bright blue eyes rolled skyward.

"Don't ask." He requested. "And _please_, whatever you do, _don't_ tell Axel. I'll never hear the end of it."

Sora grinned, extending a hand to Riku and helping him stand up again. "C'mon, guys. Apparently we've got places to go and things to see. Let's go!"

With the brunet Keyblade Master in the lead, the trio walked down the path, back to Radiant Garden. He was right; they had places to go, things to see, and more keys to find.

* * *

-spazzes- Most favourite 100-Acre-Wood bit EVER! I tried so many different ways to get Riku to _not_ be sardonic and mean about the 100-Acre-Wood, but none of them worked like this one. He just turned into this little puddle. I find it hilarious, lol.

Soo, I hope you guys enjoy it too! I'll be looking forward to your reviews! :D

Love,

Ivy J.


	23. Chapter 23

Hiiii guys! :D:D:D I'm baaack!

We have a problem, though. After this, I don't really have anything more pre-written. I've been working on the next chapter, but I honestly don't know if I'm going to get it finished in time. Other stories have been getting in the way. So has work XD I like being a cashier, I do, but work just takes up so much time. -grrrrr- As do college and government loan applications, though those are almost done. Woo! Ivy J's goin' to cooooollege. -dances- So she can work with torches and pretty stones and hot metal! :D And she's going to enjoy it immensely.

Aaaaand now she's going to stop typing in third person and start answering reviews! :D

Arear: _Most_ people, though, don't have the strength of will to return as Nobodies. Organization XIII is made up of a whole bunch of exceptions to the rule. So it's basically death, being turned into a Heartless. And yes, I could definitely see "Cloud-Hair" becoming a pet name. That is, if Sora remembers it by then, which he might very well not, lol. Don't worry, we aren't done with the 100-Acre Wood yet, we've got some stuff to go through, still. Some more uber-cuteness is on its way! :D

Lavender Phantom Flame: Wasn't he cute? :D He was all like, "I'm not sure I really like this place." at first, and then he saw Sora asleep at Pooh's house and just melted. I think it was one of the fluffiest scenes I've written in a long time XD But there are more on their way. :D There are! Really! Just hold on for another few chapters!

Rose93darkness: Yup. I had to mention Terra, Aqua and Ven, didn't I? I mean, even though the game isn't out yet, they are technically part of the storyline. And we _do_ know they spent some time in "Enchanted Dominion", or whatever. Phh. I like my name better. -pouts- And Tigger's hilarious, I love him so much.

LupinandHarry: If I ever give him cause to use it, he will. And they'll probably end up wrestling or something until they're laughing too hard to stand. And it shall be fluffy and cute, lol. Drat, now I have to put that somewhere XD. Hmmm.....-hunts-

* * *

"Wait, Sora! You can't go yet!"

Blinking in surprise, everyone turned. The three female faeries who had been working with Maleficent before she proved herself a fickle ally had pushed open the door and flown inside. "Sora, Tron needs your help!" The brunette one cried, her blue half-skirt flapping in time with her flailing.

"Tron?" Donald echoed. "What's he need us for?"

King Mickey canted his head. "Did he say what the problem was?"

The blonde faerie shrugged, lifting her hands in a helpless gesture. "We don't know." She replied. "Leon just told us to come fetch you if you were still here, and to get Merlin to summon you if you weren't."

Kairi blinked at Sora in surprise. "How could you be of any help with a computer, Sora? You barely know how to turn ours on, at home."

Sora scowled, folding his arms over his chest. "I do too."

"I might be able to help." Roxas volunteered. "Pence knows a lot about computers. He taught me some stuff. It sounds like I'll be better help than Sora, at any rate." He grinned sheepishly as his ex-Somebody glared at him.

"Perfect!" The blonde faerie grinned, turning to give her companions high-fives. The one who had first spoken returned the gesture promptly, but the one dressed all in black shook her head, until finally her hand was seized and smacked just to complete the circle. "C'mon, let's go!"

They led the group outside and up towards the bailey, on the path to the castle. Near-constant chatter from the blonde and the brunette pervaded everyone's ears until finally someone else distracted them by saying something.

"What are your names, anyway?" Sora blinked at the three floating faeries. "We never introduced ourselves the last time we met."

The brown-haired one smiled. "I'm Yuna." She replied. The one in black scoffed a little.

"Paine." She murmured. Short, simple, blunt.

The blonde grinned, bouncing up and down a little, her orange scarf floating up and down with her. "My name's Rikku!"

Sora pulled back, startled. She could _not_ have just said what he thought she did. Glancing around, he noticed that all of his friends wore exactly the same look. Especially, he noticed, Riku. "What?" He asked.

Yuna blinked at him, mismatched eyes curious. "I'm Yuna." She began, more slowly. Sora shook his head.

"No. I got yours. You." He pointed at the blonde faerie. "What did you say your name was?"

She looked at him as if he were slow in the head. "Rikku. R-I-K-K-U." She spelled. "Why?"

Kairi touched a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the sudden attack of the giggles. Rikku placed her hands squarely on her hips. "What is so funny?!" She demanded. "You haven't even introduced yourselves and you're laughing at us!"

"Sorry." Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "You know me and Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey. These three are Kairi, Roxas, and...well...Riku." He put a hand on the silver-haired teen's shoulder, so the faeries would know who he was referring to. Rikku flew back, eyes wide.

"You stole my name!" She cried accusingly. Riku arched a brow at her.

"Not quite." He replied. "Only one 'K'."

"So?!" She demanded, pouting. "Mine's cooler."

Yuna shook her head. "Not the point, Rikku." She tugged on the blonde's shoulder. "Come on, everyone! We need to go!"

* * *

Leon looked rather relieved to see them so quickly. Short and to-the-point as always, he explained that Tron hadn't actually said what was wrong; he'd just asked for Sora, Donald and Goofy. "Something about 'needing a few pairs of User eyes.'" Was all the brunet swordsman could say with a shrug. "It has to be a software problem, but it doesn't seem like he can tell what's wrong."

Sora's brow furrowed in concern. "I hope he's okay in there." He murmured, folding his arms. "We should go in and check it out."

Kairi blinked at him. "Go where?"

"You're not saying we're actually going _into_ the computer, are you?" Roxas asked, incredulous. When Sora grinned sheepishly at him, he shook his head in amazement. "You're kidding me. We've jumped into books; now you're saying we're jumping into _computers_?"

"Ansem the Wise's computer, no less." Riku couldn't help commenting. "It ought to be an adventure."

Mickey wandered over to the console. "So, um...how do y'do this? What buttons are y'supposed to press?" He asked. Sora walked over with a smile.

"Here, King Mickey, let me do it." Gently nudging the tiny king aside, he hit a few buttons on the keypad. "C'mon, everyone. Come over here."

And when they all gathered around him, he grinned and hit a final key, turning to face the glowing red panel opposite the console. "Hang on, guys!" He called, as it warmed up. "We're in for a ride!"

* * *

As usual, everything was lit with blue, the sky a limitless blue glow and pierced by red lasers. Conduits in the floor glistened as information ran through them, travelling in waves. They stood just before the platform that would take them into the pit cell, looking down into the canyon.

"That was really kinda scary." Kairi sat on the floor, eyes wide and round. "It looked like we were being deleted or something."

"De-rezzed?" Sora quipped, spurring laughter from Roxas.

"They actually _call_ it that here?" He asked incredulously. "God, Pence would _love_ this place."

"Pence is a computer person, right, Roxas?" Mickey asked with a smile.

The blond teen nodded. "Oh yeah. I think there was always a little part of him that wanted to be a hacker. He was too nice to break into other people's computers, though."

Riku's lips twitched. "Wasn't it Pence that helped you hack DiZ's computer in Twilight Town, Sora?" He asked. Sora blinked at him.

"How did you know that?" He asked, quizzically.

The silver-haired teen's smirk twisted a little more. "You'd be amazed how easy it is to eavesdrop while you're hanging out in a corridor of darkness." He replied. Sora couldn't help but grimace slightly.

"Right, sorry."

"I...wasn't expecting such a crowd of Users."

Sora turned to look, lighting up when he saw the speaker. "Tron!" He cried, grinning. Tron smiled back from a few feet away, his hands behind his back.

"Hello again, Sora. Donald. Goofy. I'm glad you've come."

"So, what's wrong, Tron?" Donald asked. The security program canted his head slightly, in a very User-esque manner.

"Come with me, everyone. We should head to the Dataspace."

He turned and began to _drift_ away, causing Sora to arch a brow. "Tron, you're floating." He commented, jogging to catch up. Tron glanced at him.

"This is just an avatar." He explained. "My program can't leave the computer core, now that I've become a part of it, so I use this image to move around the rest of the computer. It isn't restricted like independent programs or User bodies are...I don't have to walk or follow the paths."

"Cool." Sora commented, grinning. Tron glanced sidelong at him, his lips twitching slightly in amusement.

"So, Sora. Who are all these Users? What are their designations?"

It took Sora a moment, again, to remember what Tron meant by that. "Oh, right." He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Tron, meet Kairi, Roxas, Riku and King Mickey."

Now floating backwards to face them all, Tron nodded to each of them. "It's a pleasure."

The glowing red wall of the Dataspace loomed before them, almost ominous-looking. Tron floated forward to the threshold before turning around. "This way, everyone. I was- look out!"

The Heartless literally gave no warning. Kairi barely had a second to call on her magic before a Devastator's bolts slammed into her shield, forcing her practically off the path. She shrieked as she pitched backwards, arms flailing.

In a moment, Riku had grabbed her wrist and yanked her back onto solid ground. Breathless from fear, she looked up to thank him, but he was already gone, fighting off a pair of Strafers nearby. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Tron had pulled up what looked like a laser keyboard and was putting in keystrokes at a dizzying speed. The moment he finished, a rain of lightning bolts came down from the sky and struck each and every Heartless, causing them to seize up and twitch like crazy.

Glancing around, Sora caught a funny hand gesture from Riku. The next moment, he was astounded to see one of the remaining Heartless suddenly be surrounded with a funny, black-and-blue glow, then collapse and explode into dark shreds as that same black and blue shot off it and into the silver-haired teen's hand.

Mickey took out another three, bouncing around like crazy as Heartless collapsed around him. Roxas and Goofy, too, were in the thick of things, striking Strafers left and right.

Finally, the last of them toppled over, exploding into white sparks and black shreds. Tron shot a grin Sora's way when the brunet turned to look at him.

"Good. Now that we have that taken care of," Turning away, he floated towards the Dataspace. "Come, everyone. Let's go."

* * *

Tron led them up to the large screen in the Dataspace, then began pulling up screens full of code. On one, about twelve lines were highlighted in red, and somehow seemed to be different from the rest. Sora wasn't sure what was different about it until Roxas mentioned it.

"These are packets that don't make sense." He stepped forward, pointing to a segment of highlighted code. "They're just random letters and numbers...they don't actually mean anything."

Tron nodded. "That's right." He sounded pleased. "But this code was fine until now. I think it might have been corrupted by something that I haven't yet been able to detect."

"So, if it's corrupted, the computer can't read it, right?" Goofy asked. "'Cause I remember, when we were tryin' to get data off Ansem's computer, it kept tellin' us the data was corrupt, and it couldn't read it."

"And then Sora smacked it and it pulled up that picture of Ansem the Wise." Donald muttered. Sora grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?"

"Could it have been corrupted by a virus?" Roxas suggested aloud. "Some program that got into the computer somehow and is messing with things?"

Tron's brows furrowed worriedly. "I don't know. I would think I would be able to detect that, if that were the case."

"What about the Hostile Program, from the last time we were here?" Sora remembered. "You didn't know that was around until we checked it out at the I/O Tower."

"Should we go there, then?" Kairi asked.

Tron shook his head. "If the I/O Tower picked it up, I would know. We should probably go straight to the source; this corrupt data is in Sector Zero. If there's a virus there, we need to de-rezz it _now_."

Sora canted his head. "Sector Zero?"

"Sector Zero keeps encoded backups of all the locked files on this system, just in case the passcode for the originals is forgotten." Tron explained. "We'll have to take the solar sailer again...but it's best if I meet you there. The sailer travels too fast for my avatar's liking. I'll program the sailer...so you don't need to worry about piloting it. It can be tricky if you're not used to it."

The brunet Keybearer grinned. "Aww, c'mon, Tron. I'm sure I could handle it."

"I'd like to make sure you'll all arrive in one piece, if it's all the same to you." The security program chuckled. "Make your way to the hangar; I'll meet you at Sector Zero."

* * *

The solar sailer was nearly too heavy to fly with all of them onboard, so Sora was rather relieved that nothing attacked them on the way to Sector Zero. They managed to land and stop just fine, waving to Tron's avatar as they glided gently to a stop at the hangar. He smiled at them.

"Good job, everyone. Come on, now. We need to root out this problem."

He led them out into the Sector, which, admittedly, looked less impressive than Sora had thought it would. It was nothing more than a maze of identical boxes, ranging from the size of a shoebox all the way to the Mayor's mansion on the Islands.

"Now comes the time-consuming part." The security program admitted with a sigh. "Each of these compartments must be searched for the corrupt data. I'll give you all passcodes, so you can open them. We'll split up and try and cover as much of the sector as we can. If you find something, de-rezz it if you can, quarantine it if you can't until the rest of us get there."

"Quarantine?" Kairi echoed.

Roxas came to her aid, because it looked rather like Tron was astonished she didn't know the word, and Sora looked confused enough that the blond suspected he didn't know what it meant either. "Knock it out. Contain it. Just keep it from escaping."

"Oh. Okay."

Riku shook his head. "This is going to take hours." He muttered under his breath. Sora poked his arm gently.

"That's why we're splitting up, Riku. So it won't take quite so long." He turned to the others, calling Goofy and Donald over with a gesture. "Goofy, can you maybe go with Kairi? I know, Kairi," He cut her off before she could protest. "You can take care of yourself, but you're better at defending than attacking. And if we're going to contain whatever this is, we need to attack it."

She closed her mouth with a bit of a sigh. "I guess so." She relented. "All right, where are we going?"

Tron was already replicating small, paper-sized panels for each of them, handing them out one by one as he floated by. "They each have a map on them, with the section you're to cover highlighted. If one of us finds something wrong, just tap that compartment on the map quickly twice; it'll send a signal to the rest of us, and we'll come running."

"How are we gonna know if somethin's wrong?" Goofy asked, scratching his head. Riku arched a brow at the dog-soldier.

"The way we always know. It'll most likely jump out at you, hissing and spitting."

Sora chuckled. Boy, wasn't that true. "All right, then. I'm off." He waved the Keyblade at them, winking. "Have fun. Be careful, guys."

They watched as he strode off, obviously just as comfortable here as in the other worlds. Once he left, the rest split off, heading in the direction of their marked areas on their maps.

Figuring it would be easier to get most of the walking out of the way now, Kairi headed for the farthest compartment marked on her map. "C'mon, Goofy." She coaxed. "The faster we get this done, the faster we'll know that this data is safe."

Goofy chuckled. "Yup." He agreed. "Let's go."

As she reached the designated compartment, she walked around it, trying to find a door. It didn't seem like there was one, which puzzled her momentarily. "Okay. Isn't there supposed to be some way to get inside?" She wondered aloud, examining the pad in her hands closely. Poking the compartment once, she was startled to see the shining outline of a door appear before her.

"Ahyuck. Well, I guess that's the door." Goofy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Let's go searchin', huh?"

She grinned back at him. "I'm game if you are."

It wasn't as if there was much to be 'game' for, anyway. The search was mostly uneventful, rows and rows of compartments filled with packets of data in the form of little boxes; when she'd figured out how to tap into the communication system in the headband she'd been given here inside the computer, Tron told her that anything that was damaged or corrupted would take the form of a broken or rotting box, and she was to get rid of any of those she found.

From compartment to compartment, rows and rows and rows of pretty little blue boxes; all intact, nothing to worry about.

Until the pad started beeping furiously at her.

Looking down in surprise, she saw that the compartment next door was flashing with a red glow. Obviously, whoever was there had found something. Calling to Goofy, she turned and dashed for the door, letting it lock behind her again as she hurried to help.

She blinked in surprise when she ran up behind Riku, seeing the Heartless he'd cornered. It was a giant centipede, about three feet long and eight inches thick. The Heartless symbol was emblazoned on its forehead, the point just between its pincers. It seemed to be dazed, but not dead, as it lay unmoving on the floor at his feet but wasn't dissipating into nothing.

He looked up at her as she approached. "Should I get rid of it?" He inquired dryly when he saw the squeamish look she was giving the Heartless. Wrinkling her nose, Kairi shook her head.

"I think we should let Tron take a look at it first."

They didn't have long to wait. Obviously everyone else had been alerted by the furious beeping from their maps, so it was only a matter of time before they all crowded around the troublemaking Heartless. Tron's face was grim when he saw it.

"I was hoping I was wrong." He admitted. "It's a Malicious Code. I don't know how it managed to sneak into the system without my noticing. I'll have to hunt down its entrance point, so I can fortify it. I don't want any more getting in. They could cause some serious damage to the system." He looked up at Riku, then the rest of the Keybearers. "Could one of you get rid of it? I don't want to use the system again if I can help it; it might use the channel to send its data into the core."

But before any of them could move, the Heartless _melted_, seeping into the ground. Sora darted to attack it before it could escape, but it was too quick; it vanished into the floor. Tron's face took on a concerned look, and he pulled up a console with several twitches of his fingertips.

"I can't find it." He worried. "It's disappeared."

Sora's brows furrowed. "That's not good." He murmured. "Can we do anything to help?"

After several more moments of User-esque frantic searching, the security program gave up with a sigh. "No." He replied. "It will turn up, but until then I'll just have to watch for it. Thank you for your help, though. I appreciate it."

Kairi smiled. "It's okay, Tron." She sent him a thumbs-up. "Let Leon know if something else goes wrong. He can contact us."

Tron sent them a grateful smile. "Thank you again. There's a terminal in the hangar just outside Sector Zero, if you want to return to the User world from there." He offered. "You could take the solar sailer back, though, if you wish."

Glancing around, Sora shrugged. "No. We'll stop distracting you now, if that's okay." He grinned, flashing Tron a v-shaped sign with his fingers. "Like Kairi said, though; let Leon and the others know if you find it, or anything else starts to go wrong. We'll be here as quickly as we can."

Tron grinned. "Thanks. I will. Good luck out there, and give my best to the Users."

* * *

Leon looked quite grim when they explained, folding his arms over his chest. "I'll have Cid put an alarm on this computer, so one of us doesn't have to stand here constantly. If Tron needs help, I want to know right away, because I imagine there's still plenty of data in here that we might need and just can't get to." He decided, when they'd told him what happened. "Thanks anyway, Sora, everyone."

"Anything else we should take care of, before we go?" The King inquired. Leon gave the barest of smiles.

"No, I think you're released from servitude for now."

Sora blinked in surprise, exchanging glances with everyone else. Did _Leon_ just...? "Was that a _joke_?"

"He's been trying." Came Aerith's voice from the doorway, a tiny, mischievous smile on her face. Leon rolled his eyes at her as she continued. "If Yuffie bothers anyone about anything long enough, they'll do what they can."

"Whatever."

The Keyblade Master grinned, hearing Donald and Goofy collapse into giggles behind him. The King was far too well-mannered to laugh right then, but he knew the tiny royal was suppressing chuckles in the same way. "Keep workin' on it." He encouraged with a wink and a thumbs-up. "We'll be seeing you guys around. Tell Merlin and Cid and Yuffie we said bye."

"We will." Aerith waved with a soft smile. "Have a safe trip, everyone."

* * *

"Sora!"

The young Islander looked up in surprise at the sound of Riku's voice from the cockpit. Curious, he wandered over to the door. "What is it?" He asked, coming up behind the silver-haired teen, standing between his chair and the King's.

"Look." Riku tapped their path on the Navi-Gummi and it suddenly flourished, becoming another arm of their journey. Sora lit up when he saw the closest world.

"Halloween Town!" He grinned. "Oh, we should go! That place is awesome! And..." He trailed off, squinting down at the tiny world icons on the map. "Olympus Coliseum, and Pride Land...oh! And Neverland, too."

Riku arched a brow at him, rather sardonically. "I guess this means that we're going?"

The Keyblade Master shrugged. "Start heading that way, and we'll see what happens."

Mickey chuckled. "You aren't plannin' this out at all, are you, Sora?" He asked. Sora grinned back.

"Why should I? Being spontaneous makes things more fun!" Without thinking, his hand had begun to stroke up and down the curve of Riku's shoulder and neck, his fingertips working into the muscles. He didn't even notice until the elder teen made a soft noise of appreciation, rolling his shoulders as if shaking the tension from them. Then he realized what he was doing and yanked his hand away, stuffing it into his pocket rather sheepishly. Riku looked up at him, curious, but said nothing on the matter. The King didn't even appear to notice.

"Okay. I'll let everyone else know where we're going." The spike-haired teen turned, heading back towards the rest of the ship. "I'll come in and switch with one of you later, all right?"

"Sure, Sora." Riku replied, an odd note in his voice. He fought to smooth it out as he continued. "I'm sure one of us will appreciate it by then."

Mickey looked at him rather strangely as the door to the cockpit opened and closed, letting Sora leave. "Did I miss something?" He inquired. Riku shook his head, though not in disagreement.

"I think I did too, Your Majesty." He replied. To himself, he added, _'And I'm not sure if it should worry me or not.'_

* * *

Tee hee. Poor Mickey. -snuggles her Mickey plushie- He's so oblivious.

So, we'll see if I can't get Halloween Town finished for next time. I've been so enjoying making costumes up for everyone again. :D If you want a preview of Riku's, go check out **NanjoKoji** on deviantart; I asked her, and she let me use her first Halloween Town costume for Riku as inspiration. Truthfully, her second Christmas Town version is also being used, too. Everyone else has kinda been made up on the spot, though I used various inspirations for them, too. See if you can point them out, next time I post! :D Which, God willing, shouldn't be much more than two weeks from now. -crosses fingers-

So, I'm off to post another Snippet. You might want to check this one out; it's got some action in it that we've been sorely lacking in DCL. -wiggles brows suggestively- I'm also thinking I might start using Snippets to broach AU ideas to the FF network. I have several of them, lol.

Love!

Ivy J.


	24. Chapter 24

Okay, I've caved. I've had this chapter done for about a week and a half, but I was hoping to keep ahead by finishing the next few before I posted it, lol. Buuuuut, now that I've started college and fallen in love with the Jewellery Studio and the four classes I have there (with help from an acetylene torch and a fragment of solder, lol) I've decided I might as well post these bloody chapters when I have them done. Which means you'll have another chapter next Friday or Saturday, unless I cave again, lol.

Aaaand part of the long delay is I've fallen head-over-heels with the eighties TV series Beauty and the Beast :D. My mother managed to acquire the first two seasons, and even as I type I'm watching the second one, lol. I really, really kinda want myself a Vincent. XD

Arear: The more you think you 'bother' me, the more thrilled I am, lol. Don't worry about it. Quarantine just didn't seem like a word they would know, and it made me laugh too. You have no longer to wait for Halloween Town, and yes, they will go to Pride Land, lol. Look forward to it; I'm enjoying writing it, so hopefully you guys'll enjoy reading it.

Lavender Phantom Flame: lol, I love glee. Not only the emotion, but the word itself. It's quite fun. And no, I haven't done the Land of Dragons yet, but it's on the way. Sometime. If I don't decide to replace it, although I doubt that'll happen. It's giving me problems, though. I'll get through it...eventually XD

Rose93darkness: See, I always thought that Sora would give some kind of funny reaction had those three introduced themselves before. They have names in Jiminy's Journal, but I decided to disregard that, as it was just too funny to have Rikku meet Riku, lmao.

LupinandHarry: See, I always thought the same thing about King Mickey, lol. I have a friend who insists he's scarily deformed, though XD She's hilarious. And I mean to hit as many worlds as I can without any more of them being useless. I have plans for them all :D. Feel free to guess which ones I've included and which I've decided to leave out, if you like.

Naruta13: You're forgiven, lol. And yes, I loved writing that bit. It was just too damn cute, lol. I personally enjoyed writing their costumes and stuff for Halloween Town, too, although I've never been fond of the movie it was all derived from. Guess I'm not a Tim Burton person.

Agatsuma Ritsuka: He stopped because he hadn't meant to start in the first place, lol. It just kinda...happened. And when he realized it was happening, he got embarassed, the poor thing, lol. So he fled. He's so damn cute. :D

brellie-chan: Yeah, so much for two weeks, lol. But it'll come in drips and drabs, and hopefully when I'm _not_ in the studio or at work, I can be writing. Here's your update, in the meantime! Not soon, though T-T

Sooo....without further adieu....Halloween Town!

* * *

Halloween Town was as festive as ever, all decked out in Samhain-style finery. Sora was inwardly pleased not to see any Christmas decorations this time around; though he'd kinda liked the idea of a Halloween Town Christmas himself, Jack had enough on his plate getting ready for his own season.

"Sora! Good to see you again!"

Spindly, long-legged and skull-headed, Jack strode towards them, grinning. "And look what a spooky crowd you've brought this time!"

With a grin, Sora turned around to see what Donald had done to make the rest of their party 'spooky'.

Kairi's nails had elongated and glinted black in the moonlight, her eyes shadowed in the same way his were. Her outfit was mostly a dark purple, a sleeveless, black-trimmed wrap shirt under a long-sleeved shrug. At about her elbows, a black featherlike pattern was laid over the purple sleeve. A black sash twined around her hips over a knee-length purple skirt that stretched to brush the ground behind her, like a train. Short spike-heeled boots and a matching purple pointed hat with a feather-and-bead dangle weighting the tip completed the look. She grinned rather gleefully at him. "Oh, I like this. Can I keep it?" She asked, dancing around. Sora shook his head at her.

Roxas' getup was much like Sora's own; a gothic and dark reworking of his usual attire, complete with patches, rips and fading. He also had similar wings stretching from his shoulder blades and an identical mask, though the blond's mask wore a scowl instead of a grin. His skin was somewhat paler than usual, and along with the dark shading around the eyes, the valleys of his skin were shadowed with a deep green, making him look rather undead. He scowled when he got a glimpse of himself in Kairi's compact mirror. "Is this supposed to be a joke?" He demanded of Donald.

The smirk on Riku's face was partly obscured by a black half-mask. "Well, you have to admit, Roxas, it _is_ fitting." He pointed out, hooking a finger into the light grey cravat-like collar of his shirt as if to loosen it. That hand was gloved in white, and the cuff of his shirt was tight and black and stretched nearly to his elbow before flaring into the sleeve. His other arm was covered by a crooked black-and-red cape. Over the shirt there was a deep blue vest trimmed in a dark gold and belted at the waist. Trousers in the same blue were tucked into knee-length black boots.

Roxas shot him a dark look. "Thanks."

Mickey chuckled, drawing all attention his way. The tiny mouse king was _furry_, with a glint of yellow in his eyes_. _"Welp, you had to be spooky, right, Roxas? That's what Halloween Town's all about!"

"That's right!" Jack grinned. "And you're so spooky, you'll be the stars of my newest project!"

Sora looked up in surprise. "Project?" He echoed, one brow arched. The Pumpkin King nodded.

"Oh, yes, you'll have to come with me to talk to the Mayor and Sally. She seems to like this project a lot better than my last two."

Donald looked intrigued. "What is it, Jack?"

"Oh, don't you worry!" The skeleton assured them. "You'll find out soon enough! Come on!"

And, leaving little room for argument, he ran off, his long, thin legs ensuring he was nearly out of sight before the others decided to follow him.

They caught up quickly enough, though, when he stopped dead before a crowd of White Knights, Gargoyles, Toy Soldiers and Neoshadows that blocked their way into the square.

Though he liked the world itself, Sora didn't appreciate fighting the Heartless in Halloween Town. It was too dark; he was forced to rely more on his hearing and other senses rather than his sight.

This time was no exception.

Something odd caught his eye, though. Like when they were with Tron, Riku made a funny gesture with one hand, and suddenly one of the Heartless was covered in a weird sort of aura. This one, unlike the first, was black and green, and didn't go away; it hung around, slowing the Toy Soldier's movements and seeming to attack it every time it made a move against one of them. Experimentally, he cast Thundaga. The other two Toy Soldiers that were caught in it were zapped and stunned for a moment before they continued to attack, but the one with the aura collapsed to the ground and melted away. Donald and Mickey teamed up, attacking several of them with multiple Blizzard shots and Pearls.

As the last one shrieked its pain in the throes of fading and disappeared, Sora took a deep breath, shouldering his Keyblade. "Why are all these Heartless here, Jack? You haven't been, like, baiting them or anything, have you?"

"Oh, Sora, I wouldn't do that! You know I've learned my lesson when dealing with the Heartless." The Pumpkin King insisted. Sora was inclined to believe him; though Jack was determined to a fault, he had to understand he couldn't work with the Heartless by now. "Dr. Finklestein's been experimenting again; he's determined to find a way to give the Heartless new hearts."

Roxas did a double-take. "_What?_"

"The doctor's trying to give the Heartless hearts! So maybe they're drawn to that, like they were the first time. Besides." Jack folded his long, spindly arms over his chest. "The Heartless aren't so bad here, so long as they can't get to the heart of the world, right, Sora? And they help make this place even spookier than it already is!"

Sora looked troubled by that. "Jack, they're not just in Halloween Town. They're probably in still in Christmas Town, too. They might spread from there, and the Heartless wouldn't fit in anywhere else like they do here."

"Hmm. Oh, well, I suppose you're right." He relented after a moment. "But you know Dr. Finklestein isn't going to give up that easily. He'll probably continue his experiments in the middle of the night."

Donald folded his arms over his chest. "I'm gonna stuff a Heartless in his lab and let it run wild. That'll teach him to play around."

Mickey chuckled. "Now, Donald, you can't do that." He chastised gently. "What if it really hurt him, huh? He's in a wheelchair; it's harder for him to protect himself."

The white duck still looked rather irate, enough to make Sora laugh too. "Keep an eye on him, will you, Goofy? We don't want him pocketing Heartless."

Kairi giggled. "Can you imagine?"

"I'd rather not. He could go after us next." Riku commented dryly. "_I'd_ hate to wake up to a Heartless."

A dark amusement seemed to well up from within. The sense of it made the half-smile drop from the elder Islander's face, rather abruptly. Luckily, no one seemed to notice; they were all too busy talking about Donald's potential Heartless collection.

"Jack! Jaaack!" The Mayor, a tiny, stocky little man with a hat nearly the size he was, came running out of Halloween Town Hall, a grin on his face. "I've just gotten word from St. Patrick!"

Jack lit up. "Does that mean we can go there too?!" He asked, excited. The Mayor nodded, nearly smacking Jack in the skull with the top of his hat.

Goofy blinked. "Who's St. Patrick, Jack?"

"Oh, you'll meet him soon enough!" The Pumpkin King replied mysteriously. "Come with me to Town Hall! I'll detail my plans there!"

With a shrug, Sora glanced at everyone else. "Should we go?"

"I'm interested to see what he has planned." Roxas admitted. "I think I remember this place a little, but I never really talked to Jack, if I did actually come here. He does this a lot, right?"

Sora shook his head, grinning. "Oh, yeah. All the time. Last time I was here..." He looked up to see Jack had disappeared. "I'll tell you later. C'mon, let's go!"

* * *

"Sora! Over here!"

Jack waved them over to the stage, where he had a large piece of paper strung up. On it was a drawing of the doors in the Hinterlands, with notes scrawled all over it. Curious, the Keybearer walked up, looking it over. The Christmas Tree door was mostly unmarked, since Jack had already been there, but there were comments all over the other four; a large brown bird with a red beard and yellow and orange plumage, a heart, a four-leaved plant, and a striped egg. Each of them was labelled; Thanksgiving, Valentine's, St. Patrick's, and Easter, respectively.

"What's this for?"

Jack grinned at him. "I'm hoping to lead a troupe around the other towns, so that I can teach them about Halloween, and learn about their holidays!" He declared dramatically. "Perhaps you and your friends could be in that troupe, Sora?"

Sora blinked. "And Sally likes this idea?"

"Oh, yes!" The Pumpkin King threw his arms wide. "She likes it a lot."

"Perhaps if Jack knows what each of the other holidays is all about, he won't be tempted to fiddle with them any more." Sally's voice came from the audience, drawing Sora's attention. "And we might be able to avoid another disaster like before."

Donald folded his arms over his chest. "That's a good idea." He huffed. "The last thing we need is any more crossings over between the holidays."

"So, we're going to be going around to all these other holidays so that we can teach them about Halloween?" Riku's voice was dryly sarcastic. "And so that Jack can learn about those holidays, so he won't...do what, exactly?"

"He tried to take over responsibility of Christmas before." Goofy explained. "It was a big mess."

"All right, so that he won't try and take over any of the other holidays, and stick to Halloween." The silver-haired teen folded his arms over his chest. "And we get...what, out of this, exactly?"

Kairi smacked his shoulder carelessly. "Don't be mean, Riku." She chastised him.

"That's what Jack needs help with right now." Used to the reaction and the comment, Sora was barely fazed by Riku's excessive sarcasm. "So why shouldn't we give him the help he needs? I mean, we're here, and it's not like we have too much else to do."

The elder Islander couldn't help scowling, dissatisfied by that. 'Just helping because they were there' hadn't gotten them any closer to finding any more keys, now had it? It had been a little over three weeks since Wonderland, after all. They'd been to four new worlds, and now here, and no sign of their next key. Whatever that next key might be.

Looking around, he saw a trio of youngsters crouched in a corner near the doors, bent over something. Curious, he quietly made his way over there.

One of them heard him coming, because they all looked up suddenly, revealing masks; a witch, a devil, and a skeleton. "Who're you?" The devil snarked, his hands tucked behind him, obviously hiding something. Riku lifted a brow as his hand twitched curiously, like he wanted to draw his Keyblade. These children weren't _dangerous_, were they?

"A visitor." He replied, not sure whether it would be a good idea to announce his connection to Sora or not. "What do you have there?"

"We're not gonna show you!" The witch tore off her mask for a moment to stick her tongue out at him. "It's ours, and we're not gonna let you take it!"

"Yeah, we found it in the ruins!" The skeleton grinned. "And you won't find another like it, so-"

"You're just going to have to wonder!" They giggled together, turning and scampering away through the doors to Town Hall. Suspicious, Riku watched them leave, making a note to himself to ask Sora about them later.

"What'd you want with Lock, Shock and Barrel?"

On second thought, maybe now was a good time to ask.

Riku canted his head slightly. "What did you say their names were?' He asked. Sora grimaced.

"Lock, Shock and Barrel. They're a trio of pranksters who used to work for Oogie Boogie." He explained. "They're not bad at heart, really, they're just really mischievous."

"Ah." The silver-haired teen shook his head. "I was just curious about what they were doing. They were bent over something." There was a hint of irritation in his voice when he spoke again. "They wouldn't tell me."

Sora chuckled. "Lock, Shock and Barrel are like that. You kinda have to beat it out of them." With a sigh, he folded his arms over his chest. "C'mon. Jack's gonna take us into the Hinterlands."

Riku blinked in surprise. "The Hinterlands?"

Shaking his head, the Keyblade Master took his friend's arm and tugged. "You'll see. Come on."

* * *

"We're going _where_?"

Sora grinned, exposing the fangs he'd been given on their entry into Halloween Town. "Christmas Town!" He exclaimed. "We're in Halloween Town, right? So why wouldn't there be a Christmas Town?"

Riku rolled his eyes. "And let me guess. Just as Jack watches over Halloween, _Santa _lives in Christmas Town." He arched a brow Sora's way. "I thought you finally stopped believing when you were eight, Sora."

The impish smile on the brunet's face said it all. "That was only because _you_ insisted on telling me he wasn't real." He replied airily. "C'mon, Riku, after all the things we've seen on our travels, you can't admit that _maybe_ you were wrong?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this."

"Do you mean to tell me you don't believe in Sandy Claws?" Came Jack's voice from over his shoulder. He approached the group, long, black streamers dangling off the bones that made up his arms. "You know, I think that's supposed to get you a lump of coal in your stocking at Christmas."

Not minding the diversion, Riku eyed the strips of fabric Jack carried. "What are those for?"

Before Sora could hush him, Jack revealed it in his melodramatic way. "Sora wants to blindfold you all so he can see your reactions to Christmas Town!"

The brunet teen folded his arms over his chest. "Thanks, Jack. You completely ruined the surprise." He complained. He could sense everyone's hesitation at the idea, and now he wasn't certain he should go through with it. "C'mon, guys. This is the only way you're going to see Christmas Town right." He pleaded, as a last-ditch effort.

All three of them exchanged glances. Kairi was first to relent, with a bit of a sigh. "All right. But if I find myself pushed into a pile of something nasty, you're going to regret it." She warned him. Sora grinned.

"Nah. It'd be difficult to find something like that in Christmas Town." He reassured her. "Trust me, you're going to like this."

Roxas, too, consented to be blindfolded after some cursory argument. About to start goading Riku into letting him do it, Sora suddenly recalled _why_ the elder Islander would be hesitant and abruptly backed off. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to." He offered meekly. "I know you probably don't like the idea after..."

The silver-haired teen gave a heavy sigh. If he didn't trust Sora, who _could _he trust? "No. I'll do it." He relented, as the Keyblade Master looked up in surprise. "Just...don't spring it on me next time, okay?"

Sora nodded. "D'you want to do it, or do you want me?" He asked, offering the black strip. It took a second for him to decide, but Riku waved it off.

"No. You can, if you want. I'd rather it wasn't my own choice this time."

A memory returned to him, unbidden; a mirror and a younger face, shaking hands and a strip of black to match the cloak. As a tide of dark rose in turquoise eyes, he covered them, trying to keep the truth hidden.

Back then, he hadn't quite been able to manage the darkness still teeming within.

"Riku?"

He shook it off. Sora still stood there, blindfold in hand, looking worried. "Are you okay?" He asked, uncertain. Reaching out, Riku gently ruffled his hair, as if in reassurance.

"Yeah, I'm all right. Just memories."

Still looking rather uncertain, the brunet stepped forward, lifting the strip of black in his hands. "Tell me if you think it's too tight, okay?" He requested. The elder teen's lips twitched lightly.

"I think I can manage, Sora."

His other senses heightened almost immediately when his sight was blocked. He dipped his head, giving the younger Keybearer access to the back so he could tie the blindfold. The touch of the fabric and fingertips against his skin made him shiver, though he fought not to show it.

"You're being overly gentle, Sora." He murmured, when the blindfold tightened over his eyes and he felt Sora wince and move to adjust it. "It's fine. Leave it."

"Are you sure?" Sora's voice was barely above a whisper. "I don't want it to hurt you."

Another wan smile. "It's not. Really." He assured the younger teen, as he sensed the protest coming. "Sora, you know me, I would tell you."

His hand lifted, fingertips ghosting over just enough of Sora's face to tell him there was a scowl there. "No, you wouldn't." The Keyblade Master replied. "Not unless you wanted me to feel bad about it, and you don't."

A smirk, this time. "I suppose you're right."

A gentle touch on his hand, letting him know something was there before another hand slid into his. "C'mon." The younger Islander tugged. "Come this way."

"I can follow you, Sora. It's not difficult; you're loud."

The hand tugged out of his grasp. "Fine." He could practically see the raspberry Sora was giving him through the blindfold _and_ his closed eyes. "I'll be helping Kairi and Roxas, then. C'mon, guys."

With Jack in the lead, Sora led them towards the door in the Hinterlands that was the path to Christmas Town. He couldn't help grinning when the Pumpkin King opened it up, letting in a swirl of cold, wintry air that made everyone shiver.

"All right, everyone! Let's go!"

"Where are we goi-_ Sora!_" Kairi shrieked her panic when he tugged her forward until she overbalanced, toppling through the door into the tree. He grinned before tugging Roxas forward, shoving him into the tree after her. Obviously not wanting himself pitched headfirst into the unknown, Riku followed the cries in front of him without prodding, stepping into the tree of his own accord. He would kick himself later for it, but he _had_ been expecting something solid beneath his feet, and gasped when he found himself falling.

The sensation lasted long enough that he nearly got used to it before he found himself shoved out onto something wet and freezing cold against his suddenly-bare arms. Lifting his head, he levered himself into a sitting position, turning his head as if to look around. "Sora?" He called, as he heard what sounded like a lighter impact behind him. More crunching approached him, followed by a touch to the back of his head.

"Close your eyes." The Keyblade Master's voice came from right near his ear. Riku felt a twitch in his lips.

"Sora, they _are _closed."

The blindfold fell away. Carefully, the silver-haired teen opened his eyes, looking around.

For a long moment, he thought the world had gone black and white. A dark blue sky studded with stars overlooked a white landscape, hilly and scattered with trees. A cheerfully-lit village sat nestled in the valley, dominated by a large red building on the far end. Looking down, he scooped up a handful of white, watching as it began to melt against his black gloves. "It's snow." He breathed. Sora grinned.

"Isn't it awesome?"

With a laugh, Riku brushed the ice crystals off his hands. "This was definitely worth the blindfold." He declared. The brunet Keyblade Master winked.

"Glad you think so. I might've felt bad otherwise." He teased, standing to go over to Kairi. Giving her the same warning before he pulled her blindfold off, he watched as she lit up before beginning to spin around.

"Oh, look, Sora, it's snow!" She laughed. "It makes me feel little again!"

He watched her for a minute before he went to Roxas, expecting a similar reaction. What he got was something slightly different.

"I...I've been here before."

Sora did a double take. "You have?" He asked. The blond nodded.

"It's weird. I didn't realize it until I saw it, but I've definitely been here before." He looked around, walking down the slope towards the workshop. "I don't remember if we went any closer than this, though."

"We?" Mickey echoed. Roxas shook his head with a grin.

"I think Axel came along. I don't remember anyone else, though." He looked down at his outfit, a black Santa suit identical to Sora's, thought missing the lopsided hat. The black and green shadowing in his skin remained in place, as did the fangs Donald had given everyone, though they were less prominent here.

Kairi's outfit had shifted to a rich pinkish-red, a short, fur-lined skirt and jacket with knee-length boots. Instead of a hat, she wore a white fur headband and a sprig of holly in her hair. Tiny silver bells hung from her ears, and her nails had gone the same shade of pink as her hair.

Riku's outfit echoed the clothes he'd left the Islands in the first time, only black and white instead of yellow, black and blue. He did, however, have a matching hat, which he found rather amusing.

The King's ears had reformed slightly, turning to soft points near the top edge and nearly covered by a large Santa hat in deep red trimmed in white. He was dressed in a simpler version of Sora's Santa suit, only red instead of black.

"C'mon, everybody." He started down the slope behind Roxas. "Let's go talk to Santa."

* * *

"Absolutely not!"

Jack looked utterly downcast at Santa's vehemence. "But, Mr. Claws, this is for the smooth running of both our holidays!" He protested.

"Allow you to interrupt my time to perform some little _skit _when I'm already behind and let you corrupt one of my elves into being as obsessed with Halloween as you were with Christmas? I think not!"

"But Santa-" Sora began, cutting himself off when the tiny man turned and looked at him. "That's what we're trying to _prevent_. If your elves knew about Halloween, or Valentine's Day, or whatever, it wouldn't be new any more. No one would think of it any differently than any other day. You might take time to celebrate it, but other than that, it would be an everyday thing, not something special. So it wouldn't be as fascinating as Christmas was to Jack."

"I don't have time to indulge you, Sora." Santa replied coolly. "Every year, we barely manage to finish all the gifts in time for my last run on Christmas Eve. I have much to make up for this year, and I can't be delayed any longer."

"You can't even spare five minutes?" Kairi asked. "It's not going to take much longer than that."

He was cracking, they could tell. "I'm sorry. Perhaps another time."

And with that, he turned and retreated back into his workshop, off to supervise the elves again.

"Well, obviously that didn't work the way it was supposed to." Roxas commented, rather sarcastic. "Man, is he really that stiff?"

"He was right, though." Sora admitted. "He's had a lot to put him back this year. The Heartless, and the Nobodies, and the Experiment. I guess I can kinda understand why he's so anxious to just finish things this year. But it's not like it's going to do any harm. It'll just be a learning thing. The elves'll probably work even better afterward, because they will have had a break."

"Welp, I guess we're not gonna be able to convince Santa of that any time soon." Mickey shrugged. "Who else is on our visit list, Jack?"

Jack still looked rather despondent. "Well, there's Valentine." He shrugged. "I don't know how willing he'll be, now that Sandy's turned us down."

"Well, there's only one way to find that out, isn't there?" Goofy chuckled. "Let's go check it out, huh?"

Donald grinned. "Yeah! I wanna see Valentine's Town!"

Seeing their enthusiasm finally brought Jack back to his senses. "Well, okay then. Come on, my troupe! Let's go visit Valentine!"

Instead of the Halloween Town portal, graced with a laughing jack-o-lantern, the Pumpkin King led them around to another door, the heart-shaped one. When he opened it, it let out a swirl of air, heavy and damp with spring moisture. "Let's go!" He declared, leaping inside.

* * *

Roxas noticed first; as Halloween Town and Christmas Town were constantly night, Valentine's Town was dusk, just as the sun was setting. The sky was a gradient of pinks, purples and blues, with a full moon over the trees to their left and clouds molten with sunlight on their right. They stood at the bend of a broad, slow river, down which a beautifully-carved boat drifted, seemingly without a driver.

Again, their outfits had shifted to blend with Valentine's Day, arrayed in various shades of red and pink. Sora and Roxas were clothed in bright, cherry red, Riku in a darker shade of the same colour, with white and black accents. When Roxas spun around, they could see a white Nobody symbol emblazoned on the back of his jacket, matching the shape of his new mask. At the same time, Sora noticed a black heart-shape on Riku's vest. Although lacking the distinctive red notched 'x' shape in the centre, it was still quite obviously the shape of the Heartless symbol, with the tiny fleur-de-lis tail on the tip. Curious, he shrugged off his own; it was decorated with a crowned heart in a sunny gold. Reaching up to the mask that still sat on his brow, he found it had shifted again to the same heart-shape, echoing the theme.

Kairi was in pink again, about the same shade as her zippered dress, but with sleeves and a dipped collar resembling the top of a heart. On her left, the skirt reached only her knees, while on the right it trailed just above her white sandals. The King was in red, like the boys, but his symbol was a crown a little like Sora's pendant, except with heart-shapes punched out of it instead of circles. Donald and Goofy were two kaleidoscopes of crimson and pink, Donald with little white wings on his back. Jack had stayed the way he was, though; Sora figured Donald had had his hands full with the seven of them.

A winged child, swathed only in a loincloth, fluttered over to them, canting his head. "Who are you?" He asked them, fiddling with the bow slung over his shoulder.

"We're the troupe from Halloween Town, here to educate you on what Halloween is, and learn about Valentine's Day!" Jack declared with a grin. The tiny cherub lit up.

"Oh, are you?" He grinned back. "We've been looking forward to this ever since His Grace told us about your message!" Beckoning, he turned and flew away. "Come, little fiends. I'll show you to Town Hall."

As they walked, they noticed two distinct things. One was that Valentine's Town was just as indicative of its holiday as Christmas and Halloween Towns – illustrated by the number of mysterious embracing shadows in trees and dark corners they passed – and two was that, as Kairi said with a laugh, love was in the air; little tiny butterflies in various shades of pink kept fluttering around their heads, looking remarkably like flying hearts. One in particular kept buzzing around Riku, irritating him to the point that he actually smacked at it, missing it by a narrow enough margin that it stopped dead in midair before streaking away to hide in the trees.

"Don't be a stick in the mud." Sora teased, poking his side. Riku scowled.

"I don't like things flying around my head like that."

Town Hall was shaped, predictably, like a heart, rounded at the top and narrowed at the base. The cherub stopped at a curtain that seemed to serve as a door, sweeping it aside for their entrance.

"Saint Valentine is waiting, little fiends."

Inside, the air was stuffy with the scents of rose, cinnamon, and another flower scent which Kairi identified as jasmine. Like a sultan in a harem, Valentine lounged on a low couch covered in soft pillows and silky blankets. A table spread with multicoloured papers, flowers and hearts sat in front of him, obviously some business of the town, because he was pouring over them all quite distractedly, not even noticing the new arrivals until one of the other cherubs coughed lightly.

Like Jack and Santa, there was something not quite normal about Valentine. His eyes were just a little too big, his face and form a tiny bit too thin for 'handsome'. He was _pretty_, in an odd way, all blond hair and light blue eyes and golden-tan skin. But like everyone on this world, he was an ideal overexaggerated to an extreme.

"You must be the party from Halloween Town."

* * *

Looking out at the crowd of cherubs and tiny, faerie-like girls, Sora suddenly felt butterflies fluttering in his belly. He'd never been sure of his own dramatic abilities. How had he possibly gotten himself...and everyone else, for that matter...involved in something like this? Especially without any sort of rehearsal or anything? What had he been _thinking_?

An elbow dug into his arm. With a wince, he closed the hastily-erected curtain, turning around to glare at Kairi. "What?" He demanded softly. She shot him a _look_.

"Stop worrying, Everything's going to be fine." She retorted. "You're worrying the rest of us, pacing and peering out at them. Just relax."

He shrugged uncomfortably. "I'm worried Jack'll be disappointed. We're not exactly professional actors, here."

"Sora, just do what comes natural when you think of Halloween. Trick or treat? Come on, you've always been the best of us at playing pretend. Roxas'll be a natural too." She winked at him. "Riku can be scary enough to get the point across. And I'm just here to look pretty." She grinned when he laughed. "So come on. Let's get into position before Jack starts this party."

"Denizens of Valentine's Town!" Jack's voice boomed over the stage a moment later from his skull's perch on a shelf nearby. "We have come to introduce to you the fantastical, whimsical, _magical_ spirit of Halloween! You may be scared, but please do not run away. You'll miss a great show!"

Unfolding from his spot on the shelf, the Pumpkin King grabbed a tether that held the curtain and jumped, pulling it away to reveal the stage.

"I present: Halloween!"

* * *

Yeah...you can be mad at me. (cowers) I kinda...erm...chickened out. BUT! The skit was not the important thing here. Besides, I'm sure you guys could have fun imagining what it was all about; after all, it's Halloween! XD. With Sora and Roxas and Riku and everyone else all involved XD.

So, next chapter should come along in a week, if I don't forget, lol. I shouldn't, though; Fridays are my no-class days :D

Love,

Ivy J.


	25. Chapter 25

Hi guys! XD I, um....I totally forgot I was supposed to be posting today, so I'm kinda doing it over the school's network XD Yay for college and not being blocked by BESS any more! :D:D:D

So I'll take about an hour to answer all your reviews and get this up, and then I'm gone! We're working on drawing copper wire :D:D:D:D Good, good times.

calmxbeforexthexstorm: Riku was kinda irritated with the whole aspect of the world in general. He's not much of a fan of Valentine's Day as a rule. XD The HT outfits were mostly drawn from other sources, except Roxas', of course, 'cause Roxas was easy to copy from Sora. Valentine's Town was a bit more interesting, but it seems I did all right. Yay. -heart-

Neko Ninja Hezza: You don't have much longer to wait! :D Keep reading!

LupinandHarry: Yeah, I was kinda irritated myself at it. But it gets better! I swear! :D

Naruta13: Aww -heart- I like that. I'm glad I could brighten your day.

Rose93darkness: Yeah, isn't it? I always wondered what the other worlds would be like. I mean, we've got St. Patrick's Day, and Easter, and...Thanksgiving, I think, as well as Valentine's Day, that we haven't seen in canon. So I decided to explore one or two more.

Ethos Soku Rockbell: Well, there's some more coming! Stay tuned! :D

aniuwolfe: Yeah, you and I seem to do that alot, don't we? XD And good luck on that Halloween Town Roxas! :D

Okay. I guess this means we're onto the story! :D

* * *

Having already known exactly what Valentine's Day was all about, the Keybearers decided to bow out of the lesson Jack was going to get on the holiday. Instead they wandered the town, checking out the place themselves.

Snow dusted some of the higher hills near the town. Sora had decided to climb up there and see the whole town, and do a little thinking, and maybe play a little in the snow; with the early-spring weather of Valentine's Town, it wouldn't be as cold as it would be in Christmas Town.

The view was breathtaking. The town itself was sprawled between the river and the hills, lit gold on one side and steeped in purples and pinks on the other. Though just as adverse to pink as any guy his age, he had to admit, it was beautiful. With a smile, he sat, watching the boats down the river and the townspeople bustle around the streets.

So...Jamestown was Earth, home to the Natives, who worshipped the land like a mother. It was a place deeply connected with the earth and all it had in it. Atlantica was Water...ditto. Entropy had been on Wonderland, which was as random a place as he'd ever seen and hoped ever to see in his future.

Light, Darkness, Order, Air, Fire, Spirit and Memory were left. And he thought he might've been sensing a key here, but it faded in and out like a bad cell phone signal. Which one could it be? Air? Darkness? Spirit, maybe? Light wouldn't really make too much sense...neither would Order, or Fire, really. Memory could work, though. Where could they find Light, or Fire? Order he had a pretty good idea; Tron's world inside Ansem the Wise's computer. He couldn't think of anywhere more fitting, unless there was someplace else that they'd find later that fit better.

Light could be the Hundred-Acre Wood. When he thought about it, he could remember sensing a niggling little feeling like a key when he was there the last time...before, of course, he'd fallen asleep. And just thinking of fire brought him back to his first battle with Jafar in his genie form, in the lava pit beneath the Cave of Wonders on Agrabah. But it was possible they'd find both keys someplace else.

And somehow, these keys were connected to the five of them. Kairi had Earth, Roxas, Entropy, and the King had Water. They were probably arranged in matching pairs, the way Merlin had had then written down; Earth and Air, Entropy and Order, Water and Fire. Which left Spirit and Memory, and Light and Darkness. Which pair would be his? Which would be Riku's?

"Sora?"

He jumped. What _was_ it with Riku appearing whenever the brunet thought about him?! It was like he _knew_ or something. That was...a little unnerving to think about, now that he had. As ridiculous as it was. Riku wasn't exactly a mind-reader; had he been, he wouldn't have stayed away as long as he did, fearing Sora wouldn't forgive him.

The silver-haired teen smirked, tucking his hands into his pockets. He hadn't meant to startle Sora, but he'd noticed the brunet was deep in thought over _something_. The younger Islander had never been good at brooding in private. "Sorry." He called, walking over to stand next to the Keyblade Master. "You want to be alone?"

Sora chuckled wryly. "Since when did I ever like being alone?" He inquired. "I was just thinking, really. C'mon, sit down."

One silver brow arched, sardonic. "Oh, I knew you were thinking, Sora. I could hear the wheels clacking in protest from halfway down the hill." He teased. With a scowl, Sora kicked his ankle as he laughed. "Sorry, sorry, that was mean." In surrender, he kicked a little snow out of the way, uncovering the grass beneath before he sat. "What were you thinking about?"

The brunet sighed, leaning back and planting his hands in the snow behind him. "The keys." He admitted. "Where the rest of them might be, y'know? We've been out here a while now...almost a month, if I've been keeping track right. We've found a key almost once a week. I'd say that's good progress. We might even be home before school starts again."

"Shit. School. Don't mention school." Riku shook his head. "I don't want to think about going back under the yoke again after all this time."

Sora nudged him lightly. "We're not going to be _that_ far behind everyone else." He chided. "Remember? Kairi said it took a while for things to be organized enough after everyone got back for Destiny High to reopen. We could probably take night classes so we can catch up the semester we missed."

The elder Islander shot him a _look_. "Sora, you could barely handle the work from regular school. You honestly want to take on _night school _too?"

The Keyblade Master pouted. "I like to think my work ethic's changed a little." There was quiet for a few moments, before Sora spoke again. "Have you thought about...what we'll do when we finally go home and stay home?"

Riku blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, like, jobs. Or college. You know, things kids who _aren't_ Keybearers have to think about."

The silver-haired teen blinked again in surprise. Actually, now that he mentioned it... "No, not really." He shrugged. "I mean, most of the time we've been gone, I was thinking I wouldn't get back. I figured I'd just hang around with DiZ in Twilight Town, or wherever he ended up." He canted his head slightly, turning to look back at Sora. "What about you?"

Sora shrugged. "I haven't really thought much about it either. Maybe we should start, though." With a sigh, he pulled himself to his feet, dusting off the snow. "C'mon. It's getting cold up here."

Riku's lips twitched wryly. That was an interestingly circular conversation. "Sure."

They started down the slope, back down towards the town. The walk was nice, as the hill wasn't all that steep...a little like Starry Hill, if you went up the back instead of being a showoff like him and leaping up the front face, Sora grinned to himself. But hey, he liked showing off. He could do some pretty epic things, if he said so himself.

Thinking about it, however, didn't help when he stepped off a ledge masked by the snow and overbalanced forward, too surprised to catch himself.

"Waah!!"

Laughing hysterically, Sora tumbled down the slope, head over heels. Riku went to help and stumbled over the same ledge, trying to keep from landing on his face by rolling over his shoulder. His momentum pushed him over again when he went to straighten and stop himself, pitching him forward.

He landed on his knees, planting his hands wide. It was lucky he did, too, because otherwise he might have accidentally hit Sora in the face. Sitting back, he pulled his hands out of the last little bit of snow on the ground.

It took a second before the younger teen could stop laughing long enough to realize what had happened. His breath caught in his throat in surprise. "Hi."

"Hey. Sorry." He was straddling the slighter body below him, he realized, sitting on Sora's thighs. The Keyblade Master was flushed, either from the fall, or the rather compromising position they were in. Or both, he realized after a moment. It could easily be a little of both.

"It's okay. Not your fault." Sora swallowed hard, shooting him a hesitant smile. Reaching up, he toyed with a lock of silver hair for a second, before it seemed he realized what he was doing and pulled his hand away. He went to sit up, expecting Riku to anticipate this and move out of the way, but obviously he wasn't paying attention because they suddenly ended up _very_ close.

They were both breathing hard. His attention narrowed to the pulse point in Riku's neck, which beat nearly in time with his own racing heart. _'It's just the adrenalin, from the fall.'_ He tried to tell himself.

_'Not tru-u-ue!'_ Part of him sang back, like an insolent child. He flushed again, a deeper red this time, and shut his eyes, hoping the elder Islander wouldn't notice.

It took what felt like a heroic effort on his part, but Riku pulled back, letting the Keyblade Master stand unimpeded. "You okay?" He asked. Sora looked up again and nodded, still red.

"Yeah." He breathed. "N-No problem."

Familiar giggles suddenly came out of the bushes. Sora was off in a flash, running after three smaller figures that looked rather like the masked children Riku had seen in Halloween Town...what had Sora called them? Lock, Shock...and Barrel, that's right. He tore after the young Keyblade Master, running after the three kids. Luckily, they ran right past Jack on their way to the Halloween Town door, because otherwise they would have had no time to tell the Pumpkin King where they were going.

Sora hissed a curse, slowing at the jack-o-lantern door. "Should we follow them?" He asked, as Riku came to a stop next to him. The elder Keybearer shrugged.

"We've gone this far." He decided. "We might as well figure out what they've been up to this whole time."

The brunet nodded, his spikes bobbing back and forth slightly. "Okay." He replied. "Let's go, then."

Now that he'd been through the doorways a few times, it was much easier for Riku to keep his head while tumbling through space. He managed to land gracefully on his feet this time, but looked around the Hinterlands in dismay to find that Lock, Shock and Barrel had disappeared. "Where did they go?" He asked.

Sora's heart sank when he saw the footprints, eerily similar to the last time he'd had to hunt the three children down. "Let's follow these and see where they take us." He suggested, looking down at the trail. "It's better than wandering around and trying to find them."

He was rather glad, however, when the prints led not to Curly Hill, but all the way back to Dr. Finklestein's lab.

One of the doctor's cabinets of supplies was slightly ajar, and as Riku watched, the door trembled lightly, as if something was behind it and trying desperately not to move or make a noise. He discreetly pointed it out to Sora, who scowled and walked over, throwing open the doors.

A cloud of black dust greeted him, sending him into a coughing fit. His eyes watered; damn them, he couldn't _see_! "Catch them!" He cried, coughing deep in his chest. "Don't let them get to the door!"

Rather than chase them, as he'd already been warned of the trio's deviousness several times, Riku instead shot a volley of Dark Aura from his spot in front of the lab's door. They homed in on the three children, knocking each of them senseless for a moment each. This gave Sora time enough to blink and wave away most of the dust, going after Shock when he could see again.

They knocked the three pranksters around a little, just enough to tire them out. When finally Lock and Barrel had joined Shock slumped in between the doctor's bookcase and desk, whining and complaining, Sora stood over them, crossing his arms over his chest with a scowl.

"Come on, guys. Why are you following us, and what have you been carrying around with you?"

"We're not following _you_!" Lock argued. "We're following Jack!"

"He wouldn't let us be in his troupe." Shock pouted. "We're as good at Halloween as he is! Why can't we go?"

The two Keybearers exchanged glances. "I don't think he wants to have to keep an eye on you the whole time so that you won't be making mischief." Riku replied dryly.

"But we wouldn't _do_ all that stuff if we weren't so _bored_!" Barrel complained. "We wouldn't be bored showing people what Halloween's all about!"

Another exchange of glances. "We'll talk to Jack about it, okay?" Sora promised. "But for us to do that, _you_ need to show us what you guys have been carrying around this whole time."

Lock scowled. "But it's _ours_. We don't want you stealing it!"

"C'mon, guys, would I do that? Really?" Sora shot them a look. Wisely, Riku held his tongue; he'd thought about it once or twice.

They all turned to huddle in a circle, arguing so fiercely that their voices overlapped. Riku, for his part, wondered whether they could actually understand each other. He glanced at Sora a third time; the Keyblade Master shrugged back.

Finally, they spun around to face the two teens again, Lock pinning both hands behind his back. "You promise you'll talk to Jack about letting us be part of his troupe?" He demanded. Sora nodded.

"Of course."

"And you won't steal our treasure?" Barrel prodded. With a nearly-silent sigh, Riku shook his head. His awareness notched up several levels, though, when his hand twitched again, like the Way to the Dawn wanted to be summoned. But that wasn't exactly a gesture of goodwill, now was it?

"Sure." He agreed.

The devil-boy, obviously satisfied by this, brought his hands out and opened them. A pair of red-and-black dice lay on his palms, shining an eerie bloody colour in the light. "Look, it's Oogie's dice!"

Riku's Keyblade forced itself into existence with a spark of blue-black, startling him, Sora, and all three children. The dice in Lock's hands began to glow with the same light.

"A...a key?" The silver-haired teen stammered, taken rather off-guard. Sora grinned.

"Of course! No wonder it irritated us so much that they were hiding it!" He declared. "I _thought_ I was feeling a key-sense, but it kept fading in and out funny."

The key was traced in the dice, but left them intact when it appeared, a deep ebony, with a white lining on the hilt engravings. Sora came close as it deposited itself in Riku's hands, leaning over it.

"Darkness?" He asked. When Riku didn't answer right away, he looked up in surprise. The silver-haired Keybearer looked a little rattled, and a little angry.

"Yeah, I guess so." His jaw tightened. "C'mon. Let's go tell the others."

He spun on his heel and left Finklestein's Lab, forcing Sora to run after him. The Keyblade Master didn't know what to say to cheer Riku up, so he followed him mutely until they went through the portal and into Valentine's Town. There, Riku stopped on Sweetheart Bend, where the portals to Halloween Town and Christmas Town came out.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. He'd been able to feel Sora's agitation like a festering wound. "I don't like being so openly connected to darkness. It's like being branded. I...I hate it."

Sympathetic, Sora hesitantly approached him, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." He murmured, coming around to take ahold of both the elder teen's arms. "You've had enough of that, I'm sure."

"Yeah." Riku sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. "I guess I've just got to deal with it, though, huh?"

And that was how everyone else found them; Sora gently holding Riku's arms while the silver-haired teen hung his head in defeat. "Is everything okay?" Kairi asked, worried as always. Sora blinked in surprise before shooting a soft smile her way.

"Yeah, it's okay, Kairi." He told her. "We found our next key."

Shaking off the despondence that had crept into his heart, Riku held it out. "Darkness."

"Can you stay and keep performing for everyone else? We still need to do performances for St. Patrick, and the Easter Rabbit!" Jack asked. Everyone exchanged glances, though Sora couldn't help a smile at Jack's seeming inability to use the word 'bunny'.

Roxas winced. "We'd hate to leave you without a troupe, Jack, but-"

"Oh!" Sora lit up suddenly. "But I know where we can find you another one! One that would be even better than us!"

"Do you!?" Jack lit up as well. "Where?"

Three separate thumps sounded off the new troupe's arrival. Riku's lips twitched.

"Lock, Shock and Barrel."

"They promise to listen to you...well...as well as they can, anyway. And they want to do it, Jack." Sora promised, when the Pumpkin King looked rather doubtful. "They've been following us this whole time."

"C'mon, Jack, puh-lease?" Barrel tugged on Jack's trouser leg.

Jack sighed. "Oh, all right." He relented. As they began to celebrate, he cut them off with a noise, and they looked up at him in surprise again. "But you have to listen to me all the time, do you hear? Don't be running off, or making mischief."

"We won't, we won't!" Shock screeched, making Kairi wince and cover her ears. Sora chuckled.

"I hate to leave things unfinished, but is it okay if we skip out?" He asked, taking the Darkness Key from Riku's hand. "This is one of ten, six of which we still need to find. We'll come back and check on you, but right now, we should keep looking."

"Oh, of course!" Jack's skull spread into a grin. "You know where I'll be, Sora. Take care, now."

* * *

They made one last stop at Christmas Town, standing on the hill overlooking the village and the workshop. Snow fell gently around them, completing the picture.

"Makes you kinda wish we had snow on the Islands, doesn't it?" Sora asked. Kairi nodded.

"I do, sometimes. I miss the snow."

"We could always come visit on Christmas." Riku shrugged. "I imagine they probably have celebrations that day."

Sora grinned. "Or maybe we can bring Axel and Naminé and everyone over and have a party at our house."

Roxas chuckled. "It's certainly big enough."

"The castle gets festive at Christmas." Mickey admitted. "There's a ball and a pageant, and then a Christmas Banquet that we invite the townspeople for. Reminiscin' and such."

"I wonder, would all our Christmases come on the same day?" Goofy asked aloud, drawing everyone's attentions to him. "I mean, 'cause of all the time-things. Atlantica is ten years ahead of everyone else, now. It feels like spring in Radiant Garden, but it's summertime in Wonderland and the Kingdom of Roses and Chateau Vitrearii. And in Jamestown, it's almost fall."

Donald tapped his head thoughtfully. "How did we not notice that?" He squawked. Thoughtful and a little worried, Sora folded his arms over his chest.

"I hope that isn't going to cause problems later."

Roxas shrugged. "If it did, we'll fix them. "He replied, rather cockily. "After all, we're the Keybearers. Who else could?"

"It could be bigger than us." Riku commented. "We might need someone's help."

Mickey chuckled. "Welp, until we do, we'll just keep goin' the way we have." He decided. "It's silly t'make up problems that we don't have yet." He stood. "C'mon, everybody. Let's keep lookin'."

* * *

They'd moved on to the next world, "Pride Land", Sora had called it. The teleport down was oddly disorienting...to Riku, anyway. He felt like he was on all fours, although that might have been because everything seemed so much _larger_ here.

Or, rather, his perspective had been changed enough to make everything _look_ bigger.

Which, conversely, must mean he'd gotten _smaller_.

Wings flapping drew his attention overhead. A white bird fluttered overhead, clutching something in its talons. Something that, oddly enough, looked a hell of a lot like the Save the Queen Wand.

"Donald?" Riku asked, blinking. He hadn't been able to fly before...had he?

Disney Castle's Court Wizard landed on a rock, turning around as he folded his new wings back. His wand had mysteriously disappeared. "How d'you like it?" He asked mysteriously. Before he could ask, though, something landed against his back, tugging his hair, and he felt a set of sharp teeth sink into his ear.

Which suddenly felt like it was closer to being _on top_ of his head than on the side.

"Hey! Get off!" He tried to shake whatever it was off, only to tumble forward, landing on his front. His hands slid out from underneath him, and he blinked at them. They were _furry_. And had quite sharp-looking claws. "What the-?" He tried to get up, only to hear a familiar voice; slightly muffled by the _ear_ it had to come around.

"Aww, c'mon, Riku. You don't want to play?"

"Sora, get off me!" He shook his head, tugging his ear out of Sora's mouth. He slid his paws back underneath him, levering himself to his feet. Rolling, he managed to throw the other teen off him. "At least let me get _used_ to this first."

"Oh, right." Sora grinned, although it was a curious sort of grin, seeing as he was working with the facial muscles of an adolescent lion rather than a person. He did seem to take quite a bit of pleasure in baring all his teeth. "Sorry."

He was bigger now, though still smaller than Simba had been, last time he'd seen him. Shaking his slightly-fuller mane, he grinned again. "It's too much fun, being like this. I love this place."

"Hmph." Riku shook himself, then sat back. He looked himself over, raising a paw to examine curiously. "White." He commented, matter-of-factly. "I'm white." A lock of shaggy silver mane fell into his face when he dipped his head to look again. "And grey."

"It's pretty." Came a voice from behind him. He turned around to see Kairi, who had ended up a deep red as opposed to wine-coloured, like her hair. "I never thought I would ever see a white and silver lion."

Riku arched a brow. "Says the _red_ lion."

"Oh, hey, Roxas. Looking good." Sora called. "It's a good thing Simba's all grown up; if he weren't, we might have some trouble telling you apart."

The blond was, well, blond. He turned, looking back at his thin, tufted tail. "This is so _weird_. I have a _tail_." He swished it slightly, as if trying to prove his point. Sora chuckled.

"Yes, Roxas." He sounded very condescending. "If you _didn't_ have a tail, you'd look very odd."

There was a loud thudding noise from far off. The noise grew in volume as a dust cloud rose off to their right. Donald took to the air, looking to see what all the commotion was about.

"Stampede!" He squawked in alarm. In response, Sora took off running.

"Come on, everyone! This way!"

Their path took them over a hill, out of the way of the stampeding herd of what the Keyblade-Master-turned-lion called 'antelope'. Most of Sora's concentration was on his feet, so he didn't see the lioness bounding his way until she nearly ran into him. He slid to a halt, awkward after all this time, and turned to the lioness in surprise. She stared at him in the same way, brown eyes wide.

"Kovu?" She asked. Sora rose to his feet, canting his head at her.

"Uh, no. Sorry." He replied. "My name's Sora. Who are you?"

"Oh." She sat back on her haunches. "Sorry, Sora. You look like an old friend of mine." She smiled at him. "I'm Kiara."

Sora grinned back at her. "Nice to meet you, Kiara." He looked around at the surrounding grasslands. "What are you doing way out here? Pride Rock's way back that way, isn't it?" He looked over his shoulder, where the rock formation just barely peeked over the tall, lush grass.

Kiara's eyes narrowed. "Did my father send you, too?" She growled. "Maybe I should just take this hunt into Outsider territory!"

Sora blinked in surprise. Outsider territory? What did she mean by that? "No, I haven't been sent by anyone. I didn't know you until just now, how could I know your father?" The Keybearer reassured her. "It's just that, the last time I was in this area, most of the lions I knew stayed near Pride Rock."

Kiara had begun to look at him strangely, and he blinked at her in surprise. "What? What's wrong?"

"You don't look old enough to have been here before my father was around." She began thoughtfully. "Are you an Outsider?"

"Sora!"

Whirling around, Sora saw everyone else coming over the hill. Even less adjusted to paws than he was, Riku skidded, trying not to tumble down the slope. Roxas, unfortunately, was not so lucky, tripping on a rock and rolling head over tail down to where Sora and Kiara sat. Kairi had been slower, so she managed to stop with some grace. The short fur on her head parted to reveal King Mickey's round black ears and a pale flesh-coloured nose. Goofy's shield-sliding made him overshoot the gathering a little, so he plodded back, the shield slung over the shell on his back. Donald perched atop it, folding his wings back.

"What's up, guys?" Sora asked.

"Tell him, Kairi." Roxas struggled to his feet, shaking his head clear.

The redhead took a deep breath. "I think we might be in trouble." She announced. "I just saw a couple of lions setting the grass on fire. I don't know why; maybe they're hunting, or trying to scare us off, but we're right in the middle of it all." Her deep blue eyes were wide in fright. "We have to go, now!"

Sora looked up. Dark grey smoke was starting to puff over the ridge. "Yeah, okay. Let's get out of here." He looked back over a shoulder at Kiara. "Are you coming? I don't think your dad will be happy if you get caught in a fire."

Kiara sighed. "I guess I'll just have to do my first hunt another time." She grumbled. "All right. Come on, I'll get you guys out of here." She took off, her paws pounding the dirt as she ran.

"Wait!" Donald cried. He had taken to the air again, making sure their path was clear. "The fire's spreading this way! We need to find another path!"

Riku's turquoise eyes darted around, taking in the spreading blanket of smoke. "Unless there's a pond or something nearby, I think this fire might overtake us." He muttered.

Kiara gasped a realization. "The river!" She cried, bounding away. "We have to go! If we hurry, we should be able to get there in time!"

The pack of them ran off, following the lioness. As the sky darkened and the fire spread, they found themselves taking cuts around banks of red-orange flame.

After a moment, Kiara made a frustrated noise, looking around wildly. "I think we got turned around!" She shouted, then coughed deep in her chest. "I don't know where the river is from here! The fire-" She began to cough again.

"Shit." The curse was barely audible over the crackling flames, but Riku didn't really care. "We're not going to be able to get out of this."

With a glance around, Roxas scrambled over to an already-blackened patch of grass. "C'mon, this way!" He called. "The fire shouldn't double back over this!"

It was getting hard to breathe without coughing, Quickly, everyone followed Roxas over to the blackened ground. "How d'you know that, Roxas?" Goofy asked. Roxas grinned.

"Goofy, my best friend is a pyromaniac. I _should_ know how fire works!"

The effort of their flight, and of her hunt before they arrived, was obviously getting to Kiara. She stumbled a little, coughing as she sank to the earth. Kairi gently nudged her shoulder. "You okay?"

The lioness nodded weakly. "Smoke."

"It's going to get to us all soon enough if we don't get out of here." Riku muttered darkly, pessimistic as always. Sora sent him a 'look'.

"Stop being negative." He ordered. "We'll get out of this." Crouching, he nudged Kiara's side. "C'mon, Kiara, we need to get moving again."

She didn't respond, something that worried everyone. "Kiara!" Sora tried again, but got the same result. He cursed too, though less potently than Riku had. "If she's passed out, I honestly don't think we could get her out of here."

A growl rumbled out of the fire, startling the entire group. A dark shape leapt from behind a wall of flame, stopping beside Kiara's limp form. He jerked back in surprise at the sight of Sora, black mane flowing wildly. "What are you doing here?" He asked. "Since when did Pride Landers bring young on their hunts?"

"Long story!" Sora shouted. "Can you help us get her out of here?!"

The dark lion shook off his surprise, leaning over and grabbing the unconscious lioness by the scruff of her neck. He threw her a little, just enough to be able to duck underneath her limp body. "Come on. I'll get you guys to the river."

Quickly, they bolted, following the newcomer through the flames. A few times, Sora used the Keyblade to shoot Blizzard spells at burning debris in their path.

Suddenly, their mysterious guide vanished. "Wait!" Sora cried, darting forward, only to have the ground crumble beneath his paws, dumping him into cold, murky water.

Well, they'd found the river.

Swimming wasn't quite as easy as it usually was, he realized quickly. Several more splashes sounded behind him as he paddled towards the opposite bank. Only the hulking form of their saviour guided his way.

"Kiara!"

Another voice, this one familiar, came from the side of the river they were heading for. A second lion, taller, older, and with a larger, red-brown mane, ran up to the edge of the river, bellowing.

Kiara stirred, lifting her head. "Daddy?" She murmured. Another lioness came up and nuzzled her cheek.

"Kiara! Oh, you're safe!"

The older lion snarled at the younger one. "Kovu! What were you doing with my daughter?!"

"A 'thanks for saving her from the roaring fire' would be appreciated." The dark lion snarked back. "Jeez, you get cast out by your own, and _everyone_ suddenly doesn't trust you."

Sora's eyes widened when he pulled himself onto the bank and saw the elder lion and his lioness. "Simba!" He cried. Simba and Nala snapped surprised looks his way.

"Sora?!"

"So you _do _know my father!" Kiara's voice was accusing. Nala nudged her gently.

Shooting a quick look Kiara's way – obviously Nala had her baby while he was gone – Sora trotted over to Simba, momentarily pleased when he realized the Pride Lands' king was only about one-and-a-half times bigger than he was. That was cheering; maybe he might actually end up being full-grown the next time he came around here.

Simba glanced between him and the dark lion who had saved Kiara for a moment. "Is this true, Sora? Did this _Outlander-_" He glared at the young lion momentarily, "-really save my daughter?"

Sora nodded. "He saved me and my friends, too. We all might've been roasted if it weren't for him." He wasn't entirely sure where this whole 'Outlander' conflict had come from, but the younger lion – Kovu, he'd heard Simba call him – seemed nice enough to him. And he figured they owed him one.

Drawing back from the crowd, Simba seemed to think on that for a long time. As he did, Kiara pulled herself unsteadily to her feet and stalked over to her saviour.

"I had _everything _under control." She spat angrily. The dark lion rolled his eyes as her.

"Sure you did. That's why I wandered in just about the time you would have _died_. Those young onescouldn't get out either, you realize. What business they had with you, I have no idea."

"They weren't supposed to be there!" Kiara cried. "No one was supposed to be on that hunt but me, and if _Dad_ hadn't sent his little spies after me, I wouldn't have been so far out from Pride Rock in the first place!"

"Kiara, that's _enough_!" Nala snarled at her. Kiara growled back, obviously bent on being furious with everyone.

Simba's red-brown eyes were stern. "Listen to your mother." He ordered, turning Kovu's way. "You were outcast by the Outsiders?" He inquired. Kovu arched a brow.

"So, you're actually going to trust me?"

Simba sighed. "Your actions today have not completely assured me of your loyalties, Kovu, but I'm willing to give you a chance to prove them to my satisfaction." He warned. "If you can do so, I'll welcome you as one of my own."

Kovu shot him a sardonic glance. "Wonderful." He replied snarkily. "Thanks for the vote of confidence,_ Your Majesty_." The tone of his voice made it sound like an insult. Simba glared at him.

"All right, everyone. We're going back to Pride Rock. And _you_, young lady," He turned to pin Kiara with his gaze, "are not to leave the area unaccompanied."

Kiara's eyes widened. "But Dad!" She cried. "What about my hunt?!"

He snarled, but didn't answer, stalking off with stiff shoulders. Nala quietly came up and nudged her cheek gently.

"I'll talk to him. He knows how important this is to you, Kiara, but he was quite frightened today."

As they left, the young lioness turned to her new companions. "I guess you're coming with, too, huh?" She asked. Sora grinned at her.

"I guess so."

* * *

It took until dusk to return to the centre of the Pride Lands. Sora was awed by the sight; the last time he'd been here, everything had been dead and brown. But the view from the tip of Pride Rock was stunning; all green and golden and blue. It was almost like the Islands in how vivid it was.

He chuckled to himself, looking up at the brightening stars in the sky. "I guess I really do miss the Islands." He realized aloud. "I keep comparing every place I go to home."

About to turn and follow Simba into the den on Pride Rock, Sora couldn't help hesitating and glancing back at Kovu. The proud young lion was curled up in the shadow of a few boulders near the doorway, and looked rather like he was trying _not _to feel the cold.

This didn't really seem fair to Sora, so he trotted over, fixing an apologetic smile on his face. "Hey."

Kovu glared up at him with a half-hearted snarl. "Go on. Get inside before I snap you in half with my ferocious Outsider jaws." Showing them off with a large yawn, he then turned and flopped down on the stone.

Undaunted, Sora walked up and nudged his paw. "I don't really feel comfortable sleeping inside...I'm not really a Pride Lander either. So do you mind if I join you?"

"Knock yourself out." Kovu replied without looking at him.

Sora grinned. "Thanks." He replied, then curled up at Kovu's side, under the stars. The older lion's bulk sheltered him from the winds, just long enough for him to drift off.

* * *

The next morning, Sora woke to find that he wasn't the only one who decided to sleep outside. Riku had taken the space next to him and was still asleep, the fur of his paws rustling under his nose with every breath. He opened one sleepy turquoise eye when Sora yawned and stretched. The young Keybearer-turned-dark-lion grinned at him.

"Good morning."

Kairi lifted her head from Riku's other side. "Sora?"

"Key, Kairi." He stepped over Riku and nudged her shoulder. "Decided to join me?"

The red lioness curled up further, covering her eyes with one paw. "It's bright." She complained. Sora chuckled, nudging her again.

"I'm gonna remember this when we get home, you know." He teased. "Every time you tease me for sleeping in."

She sat up and yawned. "I guess it's about the same, isn't it?" She murmured. He grinned.

"Yup. C'mon." Nudging her a few more times with his nose, he got her up and moving. And then he started nudging Riku. "Up."

He complied, not really wanting to have Sora wrestling with him again this morning, though at the sight of Kiara creeping out of the den, he canted his head a little. "What's she doing up so early?"

Cautiously, as if not wanting to wake her father or anyone else, she crept over and nudged Kovu awake. The dark lion yawned, looking rather unimpressed.

"I heard you coming the moment you left the doorway." He sneered. "Obviously not much of a huntress, are you?"

Kiara scowled at him. "You know, I was coming out to thank you for saving my _life_ yesterday." She retorted. "If you think you're so damn special, why don't you _teach_ me, hmm? Impress me. I dare you to try."

His gaze slanted towards the doorway to the den. "And what would Daddy say about this?"

"He doesn't have to know. He'll sleep in until midmorning anyway." She trotted off to the edge of the rock, tail held high in her own arrogance. "Come on. Unless you're chicken."

"Kiara, can we come too?" Sora asked, practically bouncing on his paws.

"Besides, then, if he_ does_ find out, he'll know you were accompanied." Roxas considered that thought aloud. "That ought to soften the blow a little."

She softened, chuckling at Sora's eagerness. "Yeah, sure. Come on."

With a grin, he glanced back at Kovu. "Are you coming? You've got willing students, now."

Kovu growled, exasperated. "I suppose."

* * *

It proved to be an interesting day in the Pride Lands. Kovu started off teaching how _not_ to be heard when stalking prey...which got rather noisily interrupted by Timon and Pumbaa, shrieking in fright when they stumbled across Riku. The silver lion had rather been enjoying following the two, until Timon tripped backwards while trying to yank a worm out of the ground and ended up falling flat on his back, right underneath the eldest teen's nose.

"Well, now that we know you aren't gonna _eat_ us." Now sitting comfortably on one of Pumbaa's tusks, the meerkat grinned. "Aren'tcha glad we're not following you this time, Kiara?"

"This time." She echoed sardonically. "If you're not following me, then what _are_ you doing here?"

Pumbaa tossed his head, accidentally throwing Timon off in the process. "Breakfast!" He responded cheerfully. Dusting himself off, Timon shook off his irritation with the warthog, grinning again.

"This is the best spot for bugs within a day's walk of Pride Rock." He spread his hands, indicating the area before them. "But check out the squatters."

Large white birds, about Donald's size, were pecking at the ground, dragging up worms and beetles from the earth. Kairi had to grimace; she wasn't exactly fond of bugs. Her reaction had Sora chuckling.

"What's wrong, Kairi? Too slimy for you?"

"So, you want us to get rid of the birds?" Goofy asked. Timon lit up, hopping up on his shell.

"We woulda done it already, but'cha see, they don't much listen to us." He replied, as Pumbaa started charging in among them, yowling at the top of his lungs. The birds calmly lifted themselves into the air around him, then dropped again, returning to their meal. Roxas laughed.

"I can see why that would be a problem." He assured them. "So, you want us to try?"

Timon grinned at him. "Give 'em a roar. See if that does anything."

Not entirely certain as to how to go about that, all three of the other Keybearers-turned-lions turned to look at Sora, who grinned broadly at them. "I'm not very good, I don't have the lungs for it yet. I'm too small." He admitted. "But I can give it a shot."

Stepping forward, he took a deep breath and roared, sending about fifteen of the closest birds scattering into the air. He was right, though; there was a slight squeak in his voice when he did so, as if he wasn't used to pushing all that air out at once. Knowing he'd pay for it later if he didn't, Riku smothered a chuckle. He caught a soft twitter of laughter from the King, though, nestled in his mane.

"Why don't'cha try yourself, Riku?" The tiny royal inquired. He considered it for a moment; he was older, bigger. He probably wouldn't have the same squeak, and if he did, well, it was deserved. He could nurse his pride later if it happened.

Even with that reassurance, though, it took his a few deep breaths before he was ready to try.

"Do you want a better example?" Kiara teased, watching him with eyes that sparkled with mirth. Sora stuck his tongue out at her. When Riku shot her a smirk, she nodded. "Okay."

Owing to the fact she was a bit larger than Sora, her roar was much louder and more deep-throated than his. It sent another large flock to the skies, most of which didn't return; they'd obviously had enough interruptions.

"What's the point of this training?" Kovu wondered, clearly confused. Kiara cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Training? This is _fun_." She watched, fondly, as the young silver lion gave a roar. Flashing him a grin, Sora ran forward, snapping at the birds' feet as they took off. Roxas followed him.

When the land was finally clear of what Timon lovingly referred to as "scavengers", they were all laughing, having chased all the birds to one end of a small canyon. Still shot with adrenalin from the chase, Sora was still running, rounding the end of the canyon before pulling up so fast he sat down on the hard-packed earth of the savannah. His eyes went wide.

"Uh...guys?" He suddenly sounded very nervous, backing away from the end of the pass.

"I, um...I think we should start running again. Except, like, back that way."

"What's wrong, Sora?" Kairi asked. He chuckled nervously.

"The birds. They...well...they had friends."

And when he turned tail and sprinted off, they had seconds of warning before a herd of rather angry-looking animals with sharp horns Kiara called "rhinos" came charging back at them, making the ground rumble with their steps as they did so. Obviously realizing the sense in running, everyone followed Sora at top speed, Kovu quickly outstripping the younger lion.

Roxas spotted the cave first. "This way!" He shouted, ducking inside. It was barely enough to fit them all, even when everyone curled up. Sora ended up practically sitting on top of Riku, with Kairi wedged between him and the wall. It was...well, it was actually kinda comfortable. If he decided to take being squished into a rock wall as being 'cozy'.

Other than that, though, he really didn't mind much.

When the rhinos passed, it took some squeezing to get everyone out. Kovu and Kiara ended up nose-to-nose for a second or two, stumbling out of the crevice with shaky laughs. Kairi's eyes lit; she rather enjoyed watching these things happen. She just supposed it was the romantic in her. She didn't mind doing a little nudging, either, but considering how recently she'd met both Kovu and Kiara, she figured that was a little blatant even for her.

Besides, she had a couple of others she was keeping an eye on, at any rate. And from the looks of things, they needed the nudging even more.

* * *

The heat of the sun at noon gave everyone a chance to nap, and considering the crazy race they'd had this morning, Roxas was surprised...and a little embarrassed...when he woke up just past dusk to find everyone else awake. Sora had used the claws his new form gave him to scale one of the trees and was now draped lazily over a nice, sturdy branch. Riku was sprawled out on the grass in the tree's shade alongside Kairi, with the King taking refuge in his mane. Donald had perched himself on Sora's head, and Goofy was still asleep, curled up in the tree's roots with Timon and Pumbaa.

Kovu and Kiara were on their backs a little ways away, watching the stars come out and the clouds light up with sunset. She was pointing out shapes in the sky, either from the thickening stars or the remaining clouds. He, in turn, was laughing, and making funny little comments that occasionally had her arching a brow at him.

"Ooh, look! There's two lions killin' each other over a scrap of meat!" He chuckled, not noticing she was eyeing him quizzically. "I love this. I've never done this before."

"Really?" She shook off her unease; just because they'd grown up differently was no reason to be weird around him. "My father and I used to do this all the time."

"We do too, sometimes." Sora called from his perch. He grinned lazily when Kovu turned to look at him in surprise. "Wherever you go, looking up at the stars is a great way to pass the time."

Kairi giggled. "Unless it's cloudy, they're always there."

"What are the stars to you?" Kiara asked. "My father always said that the kings of the past watch over us from up in the stars."

"I like that." The red lioness sighed, tilting her head back to look up at those kings.

"I wonder if Scar's up there?"

Everyone looked up at Kovu in surprise. He obviously hadn't meant to say it aloud; he looked around after a second and shook himself, realizing they were all watching him. With a sigh, he dragged himself to his feet, walking over to a nearby stream.

"He wasn't my father or anything...but Mom's always told me that he picked me out to be his heir. He's part of me, if only a little."  
Kiara's eyes softened, and she got up to follow him. "My father says that Scar had...a...a darkness, inside him, that he just couldn't control." She admitted. Kovu sighed.

"Maybe there's a darkness in me like that."

"That's okay." The dark lion looked up at Sora in surprise, as he jumped off the branch he'd claimed and landed neatly in the grass. He grinned at Kovu, trying to be reassuring. "Even if there is. Darkness can be controlled. If you know it's there, you can keep a handle on it and be just fine." His eyes twinkled as he shot a look Riku's way. "Right?"

The silver lion couldn't help a smile. Sora's faith was cheering. "It can be difficult." He admitted. "But it's possible."

"See?" Kiara gently nuzzled Kovu's chin, tucking her head underneath his and practically burying her nose in his mane. "So don't worry about it. I'm sure you could control it."

Obviously he wasn't as sure as she was, because he pulled away, turning his back. "All my life-" He began, but couldn't finish. He shook his head and kept walking, away from everyone else. "Never mind."

"Should we go after him?" Roxas whispered. Kiara shook her head.

"You guys stay here." Was her answer. "I'll go after him."

* * *

I'm stuck on the final battle of this bloody place. THE FINAL BATTLE. So I'm not sure whether I'll have it done for next week or not. God willing. -crosses fingers-

Hope to see you again in a week!

Love,

Ivy J.


	26. Chapter 26

Okay, so...things got a little put off. BUT THAT'S OKAY! Because, of course, not only is it Deces Claves Luminibus' second anniversary (-heart-) it's ALSO the North American release date for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days! :D Who here in NA is getting their copy today/tonight/already has it?! I AM! :D

Actually, I think the West Coast might not quite have it yet, and Hawaii might not before I post, but other than that, there are North American KH fans all over the continent either cradling their new copies to their chests or dreaming of those waiting for them at their respective video game hawkers later today. I'm so exciteeeeeeed :D

This means that I'll be referring a little more to Roxas' randomly reappearing memories, now that I'll actually know what they are XD I might go back and write some of them in in some of the shorter chapters, but for now, this is the main reward: a new chapter all by itself, yay!

LupinandHarry: I actually don't own a copy of Lion King II, so I had to root one out online. Tudou FTW. And yes, man, Sora grew! :D Maybe if he goes back again, he'll be full-grown! XD. Riku's still bigger, though, given that he's a year older. But that's okay :D

Neko Ninja Hezza: You think you liked _last_ chapter? Wait 'til the next one after this. -evil laughter-

mochiusagi: Yeah, see, that was always my take on things too. Suggestive positions FTW. I try to use them sparingly, though, because otherwise it just gets irritating. But they're fun in tiny amounts! XD

aniuwolfe: I would worship you if you drew them, lol. I've been trying, but my pencils don't want to cooperate with me as much any more. Especially since Disney-style tends to kick my ass. I have computer work done on my dA account though! -insert shameless self-plug here- At starlight 71343 . deviantart . com. You know what to do :D Those are little Lion!Sora and Lion!Riku, though. I need to upload that one sketch I did of them not-so-little. XD I did my best, brats are fun to write, personally. I managed to break myself of my "follow the script!" habit for this one, but my Port Royal chapters (They're coming, folks! I swear! They're just...a ways off XD)...well...they didn't turn out near so broken-of-that-habit. The POTC scriptwriters were just too damn amazing XD I tried to deviate where I could, though! (chibi)

Mangiana: :D Glad you caught up! :) You're just in time, too, we're just about to hit some fun times. What those fun times are, you'll know soon enough! This whole idea came to me while I was playing KHII at a friend's place; for a while, I didn't even have a PS2, much less the game itself. But I read everything I could about it before I started, which is why some of my wording in the first few chapters was a little weird. I'll go back and fix those one day. But I never truly understood the fics where they just kinda decided to up-and-leave the Islands again. Man, Sora had just got back, practically! And he was gone for a good year at least! (I always kinda more thought it was closer to a year and a half...yeah, need to fix that too, lol)

So, before I fall asleep on my keyboard, I present: Chapter Twenty-Six!

* * *

Obviously things were fixed by the time they returned. In fact, Kiara was humming something quite lively, and Kovu was chuckling at her as they walked back to everyone else, side-by-side. The young lioness blinked in surprise when she saw everyone was still under the tree where she'd left them.

"You didn't have to wait." She protested, as Sora stretched and yawned. He grinned at her.

"It's okay. We were all right here."

"Besides, I think your father would have skinned us alive – or at least seriously considered it – if we'd left you out here alone with the ferocious Outsider." Roxas commented wryly, watching as Kiara rolled her eyes. Riku had to chuckle.

Kairi looked up at the stars. "We should probably go back now, though. Simba and Nala are probably worried."

Sora grinned at them all. "I'll race you guys back!" He cried, taking off. Obviously in the mood for the competition, Riku dashed off after him, his slightly-longer stride giving him an advantage only balanced by Sora's greater experience on four legs. Laughing, Kairi scrambled after them.

Soon, they were all running, Kovu and Kiara easily outstripping the younger lions. Donald soared among the stars above, King Mickey watching amusedly from his back.

Pride Rock looked rather forbidding in the darkness, but Sora clambered up the side with ease, picking his way confidently over the rocks. By the time he got to the long, pointed slab of stone that made the actual peak, Simba stood outside the opening to the den, watching. Obviously, the King of Pride Rock had heard his climb.

"Where's Kiara, Sora?"

"Right behind me." The younger lion answered with a grin. "We've been out with her, don't worry."

Simba sighed, smiling wryly. "Nice of you." He admitted. "I'm glad to know she accepts someone watching out for her."

"I heard that, Daddy." The lioness' voice came from behind Sora, and he blinked, turning around to face her. But she didn't seem entirely displeased, butting heads affectionately with her father before retreating into the darkness of the den. Kovu peeled off to sit in the shadow of his boulder, but looked up in surprise when Simba called his name.

"It's a little cold tonight. Why don't you guys come inside?"

Startled, the dark lion exchanged glances with the Keybearers. "I'll go if you do." Sora replied, shrugging. The Outsider thought for a moment more, watching Simba for any sort of suspicion.

"You sure you want me in there?" He asked, one brow arched.

"Is there some reason I shouldn't?"

It looked like Kovu was weighing his options; did he have something he wasn't telling them? Riku wasn't sure. But just the hesitance made him wary. After a moment, though, it was decided as the dark lion shook his mane.

"No. I'm not going to do anything that would put you or any of your pride in danger."

Simba nodded, obviously satisfied. "Then come on."

And with that, the eight of them followed the King of Pride Rock inside, into the den.

Still uncomfortable with the idea of sleeping in a pile, the way the lionesses seemed to, the Keybearers curled up apart from the rest of the pride. And still not entirely certain they could trust Kovu, Riku made sure to put himself between the dark lion and the rest of the group. The King took refuge in his mane again, curling up in the crook of his elbow. The presence of the tiny royal, and of Sora, when the Keyblade-Master-turned-lion settled at his back, helped him relax. At least he wasn't the only one watching out for them.

* * *

Obviously the night's activities had gotten to them, because none of them – not even Kairi – woke any earlier than mid-morning. When Sora roused himself, he saw that most of the lionesses were gone, as were Simba and Kovu, though Nala was still there, helping a young lioness with her cubs. Simba's mother, Sarabi, lay in the corner, being clambered on by a pack of youngsters, obviously too young to accompany their mothers on the hunt.

The day was gloomy, the Keyblade Master saw as he trotted over to the door of the den. Kiara sat on the tip of Pride Rock, looking out at the savannah. "Hey, Kiara." He called, following her. She turned to look at him in surprise.

"Sora, you haven't seen my father or Kovu this morning, have you?"

The Keyblade Master shook his head. "No, sorry. We just woke up."

She sighed a little, lying down on the rock and resting her chin on her paws. "Daddy took Kovu off to talk to him; get to know him a little better, Mom said." She explained. "But I just have this feeling that something's going to go wrong."

Sora's brows furrowed. He knew that feeling. "Do you want to go see if we can track them down?" He asked. "I'm sure we'll go with you."

Her head lifted again. "You don't think I'm being silly?" She asked him. He shook his head.

"Why would I? I know how it is to feel like something's wrong and not know what." He nudged her shoulder gently. "Come on. I'll call my friends, and then we'll go, okay?"

She smiled at him, finally relieved. "Thanks, Sora."

"No problem, Kiara." He grinned.

* * *

They gathered up everyone else easily enough and left Pride Rock, letting Nala know they were leaving before they hurried out into the savannah. Now that they were alone, it was easier to ask a few questions they'd been wondering the answers to.

"So, who are these Outsiders, Kiara, and why doesn't Simba like them?" Sora asked, curious. He didn't remember any lions who'd seemed different to him. Kiara shook her head.

"You really haven't been around for a long while." She commented. "The Outsiders allied themselves with Scar before my father took the throne back. After he was secure in the throne again, he banished the Outsiders, afraid that they would overthrow him and give Pride Rock to someone else." She lowered her head, sighing. "I remember Zira saying when Kovu and I first met that Kovu was chosen by Scar to be his heir. That's why Daddy was so wary of him."

Roxas' eyes narrowed. "I wonder why he changed his mind?"

"I don't know." Looking around the savannah, the princess of Pride Rock sounded rather distant. "I'm glad he did, though. Kovu isn't a bad person, just because he grew up an Outsider. Zira's a little crazy, but there's nothing wrong with Kovu. He's just-"

She cut herself off with a gasp, suddenly taking off. Startled, it took Sora a second to follow at top speed, dashing towards a limp figure of a lion on the grass. "Simba!" The Keybearer shouted, nearly as worried as Kiara, at the sight of the king of the savannah collapsed in the grass. When they reached him, he nudged Simba's side. "You okay?"

"What happened?" Kairi asked, her brows drawing together. She'd already drawn her Keyblade to channel her magic, and the question sounded interesting coming around the hilt, but she said it clearly enough that Simba could understand her. He lifted his head as the familiar sense of a Cure spell surrounded him.

"Kovu led me into an Outsider ambush." He spat, dragging himself to his feet. Bigger than most of the others, Riku ducked under Simba's torso just before the older lion's forepaws gave out again, supporting the King of Pride Rock with his back. Kiara stared at her father, stunned.

"What? No! You- There- there has to be a mistake!"

"No mistake." Simba wheezed, trying to push himself back to his feet. Riku shot him a _look_.

"You're just making things worse, you know that, right?" He commented sardonically. "Just keep what weight you can on your back legs, and keep them moving. I can get us back all right."

Too worn out to protest, Simba nodded. As they began heading back to Pride Rock, Sora waved Donald over.

"What is it, Sora?" The white bird-wizard asked.

Sora's voice dropped to an undertone. "Fly back to Pride Rock and tell the lionesses about Simba. Then get Zazu to help you scout for the Outsiders. I don't think this is the last of it."

Donald nodded. "Okay. I will."

* * *

About halfway back to Pride Rock, three or four lionesses came to meet them, including Nala. She took Riku's place dragging Simba back home, which by then he was happy to give up. He hadn't counted on just how _heavy_ Simba was. By the time they set him down in the King's Den, he was coming around again, and Sora had handed Kairi a few bottles of Potion to help treat Simba's wounds with.

The King of Pride Rock had to force himself back to his feet, though, when several shouts and animalistic cries outside the den announced Kovu's arrival. He walked gravely up to the peak, Kiara stalking worriedly behind him.

"Simba, please!" The younger lion begged. "I had nothing to do with the ambush! My mother-"

Simba went cold to see his new scar; just over his left eyelid, a mirror image of Scar's. "That doesn't matter!" His voice boomed out over the valley, to all the animals gathered to witness the young Outsider's fate. "You asked me to suspend judgment, Kovu, when you asked for admittance to the Pride Lands. I hereby judge you now!"

"No, Daddy, please!" Kiara shrieked, held back by two lionesses.

"_Exile_!"

Looking suddenly lost, Kovu turned tail and ran, chased away from Pride Rock by stone-throwing monkeys and dive-bombing birds. He was nearly a speck on the horizon before Sora's shock subsided enough for him to tear after Simba, who by now had retreated all the way back into the den and collapsed, surrendering himself to Kairi's healing magics again.

"Simba, why would he have come back if he'd been a part of things?" He demanded. "He'd know better than that, don't you think? Why would he have risked it?"

"I don't care." Stubbornly, Simba turned away from the Keybearer. "He was there. He should have told me they might attack."

Sora scowled. He wasn't going to just let Simba get away with that. "What if he didn't realize they were in the Pride Lands?" He inquired coolly. "What if you guys were just in the wrong place and the wrong time and Zira took advantage? Wouldn't it have been better to hear Kovu's side of the story?"

"I can't trust him, now."

Kairi's eyes narrowed. "Kiara trusts him enough."

Simba looked up at her, one brow arched in warning. "Kiara is smitten." It hurt him to say it, but he'd known the look on her face the moment he saw it the evening before. His daughter was in love...with an Outsider. "It makes her blind to any faults he might have."

"How _dare_ you!" Kiara snarled from her end of the den. "I trust Kovu because I _know_ better! He couldn't possibly have done what you seem to think he did! And I'll prove it to you!"

She dashed for the entrance to the den, but was cut off by three older lionesses, friends of her mother's. When she tried and failed to get past them, she instead turned and retreated into the passageways of the den, crying. At a look from Simba, Timon and Pumbaa followed her, trying their best to be quiet.

Obviously out of patience with Simba, Sora followed them, padding along on silent paws. That was one thing he really enjoyed about being here in the Pride Lands; he was nearly unnoticed when he moved unless his natural clumsiness took over, tripping him or something.

Kiara found herself a corner and huddled in it, weeping. A beam of pale light arrowed down onto her nose, and she looked up in surprise. Then she stood and began to paw at the rocks. They moved easily, settling and widening the opening.

Realizing what she was doing, Sora waited. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to stop her...he believed Kovu when he said he'd had nothing to do with the ambush. Perhaps it _was_ just him being naïve, but so far he'd had pretty good judgment, and he'd rather liked Kovu. Luckily, Timon caught sight of him before he could startle them into giving away their presences or his.

"Try not to get caught when you follow her." He whispered to them. "I don't think anyone's going to stop her from finding Kovu, but Simba should at least have someone watching out for her. I would go, but I have a feeling the Outsiders are on their way. I'm going to be needed in the battle."

Timon nodded. "We'll try and tail her."

With a last nod, Sora started to back away. "Donald and Zazu are out scouting. If you can find them, tell one of them if you lose Kiara. If you can't, then just come back here."

"Aye aye, captain." The meerkat saluted him, before hopping onto Pumbaa's back. "After her, buddy!"

Satisfied, Sora padded back into the den. Simba had closed his eyes, and so didn't see him leave or return. Nala had been too busy worrying over him to see where anyone else was.

"Where's Kiara?" Roxas asked, voice quiet. Sora's voice dropped too.

"She's near the back of the den." He replied. "She's pretty upset. I decided to leave her alone. Timon and Pumbaa are still with her, though."

"What makes you so sure that Kovu's telling the truth, Sora?" The brunet looked up in surprise to see Riku watching them. One brow quirked.

"What makes you so sure he _isn't_?"

He shook his head, silver mane rippling. "I'm not, really. But there's something different about him. He was trying to tell Kiara something last night, and I don't think she was listening. I think this Zira person set up the fire so Simba would be indebted to Kovu."

Sora wasn't convinced. "If he'd been sent to harm Simba or Kiara...or if he _wanted_ to...why would he have hesitated last night, when we were all alone, or when we were following Simba in here? I doubt he thinks of us as any sort of threat; we're not _that_ old, in their eyes. And I don't think he's even noticed we carry Keyblades." He countered. "If there was some sort of plot, I don't think he's part of it any more."

"Simba! Nala!"

Everyone looked up to see the lioness who ran in from the back of the den. She ran over to the King and Queen of Pride Rock, panting. "Kiara's gone." She declared, to gasps and growls. "I think she dug her way out of some loose rock in the back."

Nala barely managed to keep Simba lying down in his panic. "Are Timon and Pumbaa in the back?" He demanded. The lioness shook her head.

"I didn't see them."

A heavy breath left the lion, and he sagged to the floor again. "Good. Hopefully they'll be able to follow her. Maybe she might listen to them for once."

"Simba!"

Donald flew into the King's Den, followed closely by Zazu, who looked to be panicking. Disney Castle's Court Wizard fluttered over to Sora, who planted his forepaws on Riku's shoulders so that they were nearly nose-to-beak.

"What is it?" He asked, quietly. Donald shook his head, stepping back a few steps.

"The Outsiders are on their way here, to Pride Rock." His brows were drawn, worried. "And Timon and Pumbaa lost Kiara. They tried to follow her, but she was too quick for them."

"What?!" Simba tried to rise and nearly faltered, red-brown eyes wide. "Damn it, Kiara! She shouldn't be out there alone!"

Finally losing patience, Kairi cast a hurried Curaga. "That should hold for a little while." She judged. "Try not to put too much stress on it, though."

Simba shook his mane. "I'll do my best." He told the little red lioness. "But the Outsiders aren't going to let me stay off it for long."

"Simba, let us go in first." Nala nudged his shoulder, gently. "Zira will come after you, but until then, let us handle the battle."

"And us!" Sora had to speak around the Keyblade, but otherwise looked ready to go. Simba managed a small smile in response.

"I'd appreciate that." He admitted. Then he sobered. "But I want at least one of you to see if you can track down Kiara. I don't want her out in the wild with _him_."

The Keyblade disappeared from the Keybearer-turned-lion's jaws. "I really don't think he'd hurt her, Simba. But one of us can go see if we can find them."

"I'll go." Sora blinked in surprise at the voice, turning as Riku padded up beside him. "You're not going to need me in the battle right away; Sora and Roxas are better with the Keyblade this way than I am." He told the King of Pride Rock. "Kairi you'll need for defense and healing. So I'll go."

"Riku, are you sure?" Kairi called. He flashed her a smirk.

"I also know pretty well how Kovu's feeling right now. He's more likely to listen to me than any of you."

Simba nodded. "Okay. You might want to leave now; the battle might stop you."

With a returning nod, the silver lion turned to leave. A tug on his tail stopped him, and he looked over his shoulder to meet Sora's worried blue eyes. The Keyblade-Master-turned lion trotted over, looking like he wanted to say something.

"What is it?"

Suddenly finding himself almost at a loss for words, Sora gave into his first instinct and stepped forward, rubbing a cheek against the side of Riku's face and neck. "Be careful." He murmured. He wasn't sure what else he'd been thinking of saying _anyway_.

Momentarily stunned, it took a second for the elder Keybearer to react. "Yeah, sure." He shook his head, his lips twitching. "Dying doesn't sound very appealing." Realizing it might seem weird if he didn't, he returned the gesture affectionately. "You too."

And with that, he left the den.

He might have _looked_ calm, but inside he was shaky. When he'd seen Simba and Nala do something similar earlier, it had looked no more intimate than a friendly hug. But it _felt_ like much more.

He wondered, idly, if it had affected Sora in the same way. But that was absurd. The younger teen hadn't even been fazed. He would have been able to see it if he had. He'd thought of it exactly the way it had looked; just a quick, friendly moment, nothing more.

Damn it, this was going to drive him crazy, now.

No, it wasn't. He wasn't going to let it. Shaking away his thoughts, he took off at a run. He needed to find Kiara and Kovu before the battle got too fierce.

* * *

Sora watched him go, a curious warmth curling in his chest as he lifted his paw and rubbed his cheek gently. A presence nearby drew his attention, and he looked over his shoulder to see the King crawling up his arm to settle in his mane.

"He'll be all right, Sora. Don't worry."

The Keyblade Master chuckled. "I know he will." He admitted. "He's always worked best alone." A nudge to his ear made him blink. "What? He has."

"Maybe when y'look at him." The King's voice was wistful. "But I saw a lot of him durin' that year between the closin' of Kingdom Hearts and your reunion on the balcony of The Hall of Empty Melodies. He missed y'guys a lot more than he lets on."

Sora sighed as the first growlings of thunder sounded overhead. "Yeah, I know." He nodded. "I wish he hadn't been trapped behind the door the way he was. That he hadn't had to spend all that time alone."

"He needed it. He learned a lot about himself durin' that year. It was just hard on him."

The Keybearer allowed himself a few more minutes of sympathy before he shook it off. "C'mon. We should probably get ready to meet the Outlanders. We don't want to be fighting them on the steps of Pride Rock."

* * *

Damn it, he should have brought Sora.

Actually, it probably would have been better to bring Donald or Goofy, no matter how much he preferred Sora's company. Sora was needed. Donald and Goofy...not as much.

But at least with one of them, he would know his way around.

The shadows were really confusing, now that night was beginning to fall. He'd only begun to find his way the day before, when they'd been tearing around the savannah with Kiara and Kovu, and to have to re-learn his way in shadow was more disorienting than not.

Not that he didn't have practice, of course. It was just a little more frustrating this way.

Especially after he found himself passing the same bush a third time in a row.

"Who are you looking for?"

Startled by the sudden voice – and the odd way the speaker dragged out the word "who", so it sounded more like an animal call than a word – Riku looked up and around. There was a lanky shadow in the nearby tree. "Who are you?" He countered, suspicious.

The shadow swung out into the moonlight, revealing itself to be some sort of monkey, hanging from one of the branches. Pale grey fur framed its face, standing out from the blue-black hair that covered the rest of its form. It grinned at him.

"How rude!" He declared. "The visitor should always identify themselves first."

Still rather uneasy at the idea, but trusting his judgment – the monkey seemed just slightly off his rocker – the silver lion forced himself to relax. "Riku." He replied. "Do you know Sora? I'm a friend of his."

"Oh yes. Ha ha! The one who was searched for." Slinging its back legs over the branch it hung from, the monkey peered at him. "And now you search for more, to bridge the gap, hmm? Simba shouldn't worry so." He pointed a finger out in a direction that was back and towards the elder Keybearer's left. "You will find what you seek behind. And before you, too. Rafiki knows."

Riku had turned to look back in the indicated direction, but at the contradictory answer, he glanced back up at the monkey again. "What do you-"

But the lanky figure was gone. There was no sign he'd been talking to anyone.

With a sigh, he turned back towards the way he'd been given, taking off at a run. It was only a few minutes before he came to a pool, with a pair of lions curled up on the far edge.

Kiara looked up in surprise when he roared. "Riku?" She called back, pulling away from Kovu and meeting the silver lion as he ran up. He was a little out of breath when he halted in front of her, taking a second before he spoke.

"The Outsiders have declared war on the Pride Lands. When I left, Simba was getting healed so he could lead the defense." He managed. "He wanted me to find you, just in case."

The two runaway lovers exchanged glances. "I told you." Kiara's voice was firm. "We have to go back, or they'll kill each other. Our prides can come together if only they have a chance to listen to sense."

Kovu looked reluctant for a moment or two. "Are you sure your father isn't going to slay me on sight?" He inquired dryly. She scowled.

"I won't let him. Now come _on_. We need to go!" She turned back to Riku, brown eyes determined. "Lead the way."

He nodded. "Come on. They'll probably have met somewhere in the middle by now. It might take some time to find the battle."

And with that, they turned and sprinted off, back towards Pride Rock.

* * *

The two prides met on the plain bordering the river that separated Outlander territory from the Pride Lands. Zira stalked ahead of her fellow Outsiders, a manic gleam lighting her eyes when she saw Simba.

"I will tear you apart for murdering my Nuka, Simba." She snarled, teeth bared. Nala and another lioness moved, quickly barring her path.

"You'll have to go through us first."

Sora stepped forward to join them. He'd not yet drawn the Keyblade, wanting to appear less of a threat than he really was. "Us too." He declared. Zira laughed at him.

"Are you so desperate for troops that you're recruiting _young_, Simba?" She taunted him. "Or have you perhaps had your own heirs since last I saw you? Unfortunate they won't live long enough to inherit." Her claws shrieked as she sharpened them against a nearby stone.

The brunet lion turned to glance at Roxas, who stood next to him. "We're not Simba's sons." The blond's eyes were narrowed as he watched Zira. "We're good friends of his, who are willing to help him protect his subjects."

"Then you're a pair of fools." She spat at them, glancing at the young lioness by her side. The unnamed lioness smirked, watching them both with cold blue eyes.

And then the rain began to fall.

"Last chance, Zira!" Simba snarled. "Go home, and I'll let you and your pride leave!"

Zira's eyes lit again. "I _am_ home!"

With that, she leapt at him, tackling the second lioness that had moved to defend Simba. Sora's Keyblade was in his mouth in a flash, poised to defend as Zira's younger partner lunged toward him and Roxas. A Reflect shield knocked her back, but only for a few moments. When she gained her feet again, she pounced Roxas, knocking him back.

Fire leapt into existence, searing her back. She howled in pain and rolled off him, soothing the burn with the cold mud beneath their paws. Another lioness leapt forward to take her place, but Roxas countered her, tackling her belly and sending her rolling, leaving Sora to deal with the first one. She snarled at him, baring teeth as she gained her footing again, then swiped, nearly slicing him across the face with her claws. Both snapped out when he dodged the first attack, the lioness rearing back on her hind paws to free both front ones to attack. Five lines of pain across the fur on his chest and a coppery tang in the air told him he'd been hit, but he retaliated with a blow from the Keyblade in his mouth. It slammed into her chest, making her flinch.

A pair of jaws clamped around his neck from behind and shook violently. When they let go, he crumpled, rattled. Distantly, he heard Donald squawk a "Thunder!" and felt a Reflect shell blossom into existence around him before being followed up by a Cure.

He felt one of the lionesses pounce on him, then another from the other side. With a yelp of pain – they were_ heavy_, damn it! – he snapped at one of them, catching a foreleg in his teeth. In one of the back corners of his mind, he found it scary that he was fighting in such a feral way, but this _was_ the Pride Lands, not Atlantica or the Land of Dragons or someplace else where human reason had any place. This was a place where mistakes could cost life and limb, and animals with the intelligence of human beings could eat each other, and often did. That was life, here in the savannah.

Then an impact to one of the weights on his back made it lift suddenly, and the leg he'd sank his teeth into was ripped away with a howl of pain. The other lioness backed off, suddenly not as sure of herself now that things had been evened out.

Sora looked up in surprise to see a familiar turquoise-eyed face. "Riku!" He cried with a grin, drawing the Keyblade once more. Now that the elder teen had one of them handled, he focused on the first again, the lioness that had been at Zira's side before the battle had broken the lines.

"Don't think I'm suddenly afraid of you, Pride Lander." She spat. "You and that magic claw in your mouth don't scare me."

"Move aside!"

Everyone turned to look in surprise. Zira and Simba, who had been circling each other threateningly, were suddenly separated from one another; Zira facing off against her son, Simba against his daughter.

"Daddy, this has to stop!" Kiara pleaded, not moving from her spot between her father and Kovu. "Don't you see how _useless_ this is?"

Zira snarled. "Come back to your pride, Kovu, and we just might spare you. Kill Simba and his daughter now, and your safety will be assured."

"No." The dark lion retorted, shoulders squared as if expecting Zira or one of the other Outsiders to rush him. "I'm not going to hurt them, and neither are you. Not while I'm around."

"Traitor!" The lioness opposite Sora growled. "This is our moment!"

"Listen to them!" Simba roared. "They want to murder us all!"

"_Look_ at them!" Kiara demanded of her father. "What differences to you see between them and us?!"

The Keyblade melted away. Sora rose from his battle crouch, padding over to Kiara. "She has a point." He agreed, looking between her and Simba. "Doesn't she?"

Looking around, the King of Pride Rock found it difficult to tell between his pride and Zira's. The Outsiders were usually more scruffy and feral-looking, but between the battle and the rain and mud, there was no difference now. They all looked the same. Perhaps sensing this change of heart, Kiara stepped forward.

"We are one. You told me that, didn't you, Daddy?" She asked. He started at the mention of that conversation, looking at her in surprise. "I didn't understand what you meant until now."

Obviously losing her patience with all this talking, Zira glared over her shoulder at the lioness who had been attacking Sora. "Vitani!" She spat. "Get rid of her."

But Vitani herself even seemed to be having doubts. "She's right, Mother."

The Outsider army exchanged looks. One by one, they relaxed, pulling away from their Pride Land opponents. They huddled in groups, nursing each others' wounds, waiting to see what would happen next.

However, none of them, not even Kovu, were fast enough to counter Zira when she suddenly leapt at Kiara, knocking the young lioness away from her pride and over the cliff, into the gorge.

"Kiara!" Nala cried. Hurrying over to the ledge, everyone gathered to watch as Zira tried to throw the princess of Pride Rock into the river. Kiara fought back madly, although refused to attack the Outsider matriarch directly, resorting to defense instead.

It was like a brutal game of tug-of-war. Zira would hook claws into Kiara's fur and drag her towards the churning waters, only to be smacked back by a paw or have the younger lioness slip out of her grasp by ducking under her larger form. Kiara would back off, only to have the whole pattern start again.

Something seemed to snap in Zira's eyes. She leapt at Kiara again, only to be deflected by her opponent's shoulder. Down she fell, managing to catch herself just above the roaring river. In response, Kiara made a snap decision, crouching down by the cliff's edge and stretching.

"Zira, give me your paw!"

Zira snapped at her, forcing her to withdraw the helping paw, and tried to scramble up the cliff face on her own. But she soon realized just how impossible it would be to drag herself up that long stretch of stone, with the rock beneath her back paws slick with spray. Her eyes were white all around the irises when she looked up again.

"Let me help you!" Kiara demanded, stretching out her paw again. Swallowing her arrogance, Zira tore one paw free of the stone, reach up to try and grab the outstretched limb.

But just at that moment, a buoyant tree trunk came careening down the river, slamming into Zira's side. With a howl, she let go with her one remaining paw, swept down the current in a moment. No trace of her remained.

Shaken, Kiara turned away, looking up into the faces of the lions on the cliff. None of them looked down on her with malice; they all knew she had tried. Even Kovu and Vitani showed no anger, only sorrow. She took her mother's outstretched paw, using it to help her ascent up the cliff.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was small. Kovu nuzzled her cheek.

"It's okay. We know."

Simba shook out his mane. "Come." He called, raising his voice to be heard over the dripping rain. "Let's go..." He trailed off for a moment before looking directly at Kiara and Kovu, "...home." There was a last hesitation before he glanced at Sora and his companions. "Will you be coming with us?"

Looking around, the Keyblade Master shook his head with a smile. "I don't think so. You guys don't need us any more. You've figured it out all on your own." He winked. "I think Rafiki knows how to get ahold of us, though, so if you really think you need us, give us a call. We'll come to you."

Nala blinked at him in surprise. "Where do you _go_, Sora?"

The brunet lion exchanged grinning glances with his friends. "Far away." He answered. "But not far enough that I won't come if I'm called." He canted his head with a smile and a wink. "We'll see you guys again sometime, okay?"

Kiara came up and gently nudged his head, like a brief hug. "Thank you for everything." She murmured, moving on and giving everyone the same slight nudge. Once they were done, the pride turned away, walking back over the savannah. Night had fallen long ago; it wasn't long before they were all out of sight.

"C'mon. Let's go."

* * *

"It feels so _weird_ to be back on two legs."

Sora laughed, sitting down in the pilot's chair and rubbing his own. "I know." He agreed, grinning Roxas' way. "I feel the same way every time I leave the Pride Lands, like _lion_ is my real form and I'm trying out this two-legged one for fun." To remind himself where they were, he pulled up the Navi-Gummi. Right. They were in orbit around Pride Land, with Neverland as the next place on their route, and Olympus Coliseum after that.

"Imagine how Donald feels." Riku commented idly. "He could fly."

"Welp, I for one am quite happy to get back to my old form." Mickey hopped up on the co-pilot's chair, looking out at the stars. Kairi giggled at him.

"If I'd been that small, I would have been glad to get back to being me again too, King Mickey." She nodded. "So I don't blame you."

"Uh oh."

Everyone turned to look at Goofy in surprise. He was standing over Sora's shoulder, pointing at the Navi-Gummi in alarm. "Look, everybody. Neverland's on fire."

The island icon that was Neverland was indeed quickly being engulfed in red, orange and yellow, with dark grey smoke puffing off of it. Sora instantly sobered.

"Okay. Looks like Neverland needs us. That's where we're headed." He declared. "Everybody buckle up; it's time to go to the rescue again."

And with that, he punched in the coordinates that would take them to Neverland, and the Gummi Ship shot off into space, on its way to the next new world.

* * *

Yay, Neverland :D I have no idea when I'm going to post next chapter; I might be sympathetic and post on Friday, but we'll see. I'm eager to see it up, but I also need to finish what's after it before I post it, so maybe I won't be lagging again XD And, well...work is evil.

Love!

Ivy J.


	27. Chapter 27

Hello, guys! I'm baaaaaack!

I really, really hope you guys like this chapter. This is one of those ones that I've had waiting in the wings for a while -coughayearandahalfcough-, and thus it's gone through several different revisions since the first time it flowed out of my fingers. I'm happier with this one now than I was with the original. Yay. So I hope you guys like it too.

So, umm...guys, what happened? o.o; You all kinda, erm, disappeared on me again. That sounds so needy, but I'm really rather curious.

AfterDark17: You should watch The Lion King II if only for the music, lol. "Upendi" is fantastic and hilarious, and "My Lullaby" is so awesome and evil, lol. I couldn't include either of them in here, because I'm not much of a musical-number writer, but I -heart- those songs. They might find the Fire Key here, you'll just have to see :D And yes, Roxas and Axel need their love, but first we need to get back there again, because the Gummi Ship is small enough without another passenger, lol.

Rose93darkness: Yeah, Neverland is on fire. I really kinda wish we'd been able to see the whole of Neverland in Days, but that's okay, because damn, the new music they composed for it made it _so_ worth it. Great place, Neverland :D

Naruta13: Stay tuned. It gets better :D

Nekotsubasa: I'm glad you stayed on, and I hope you won't be disappointed. Truthfully, I had to keep rewriting sentences because I would mix up "Kiara" and "Kairi" too, lol, so you're not the only one. XD

So, guys: Enjoy! -heart-

* * *

Peter, the Darlings, and the Lost Boys were flying aimlessly around Neverland on what used to be Captain Hook's pirate ship, hovering over Mermaid Lagoon when Sora and the others teleported down. The Neverwood had burned (that was the fire they'd seen on the Navi-Gummi), depriving them of their traditional hideout, and according to John, giving him and Wendy and Michael a scare. They'd thought he'd perished in the flames. Peter, however, thought it had been a great adventure, and was now trying to top it with something even better.

He'd taken to wearing one of Captain Hook's crimson pirate coats since Sora had seen him last, and seemed to enjoy sprinkling the occasional sailing term into his vocabulary. Most of them, Sora had been taught by Jack Sparrow, from Port Royal, but until he filled them in, everyone else was in the dark.

"You know, there's something I just don't like about him..."

Sora blinked, looking up at Riku. "Who?"

Riku's wary turquoise eyes were fixed on Peter's new butler, a thin slip of a person by the name of Ravello. "Him." He replied, nodding in the man's direction. "He seems familiar."

Curious, Sora arched a brow. "And that makes you not like him?"

The silver-haired Keybearer shot him a _look_. "Sora, last time I was here, who did I spend _most_ of my time with?" He inquired, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well..." Curious morphed into troubled. "I guess when you put it that way, I can see what you mean. But are you serious? You think Ravello might be, like, in disguise?"

Riku shook his head. "I don't know. That's part of what's bothering me; he might be, but we can't be sure. From what I've seen of Peter, he's very fickle...if we go accusing Ravello now, it'll turn into a case of his word against ours. Truthfully, Sora, would he be inclined to believe us? He barely remembers you, Donald and Goofy, and he doesn't actually know any of the rest of us."

Sora shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not, now that I think about it." He brightened slightly. "Let's go find proof, then!"

The silver-haired Keybearer blinked. "What?"

"C'mon, Riku, I'm sure we can find _something_." He nudged the elder Islander's arm. "Let's just go do some snooping."

Riku rolled his eyes. "Well, I suppose it's worth a shot." He admitted. "It's not like we're going to be much worse off if we get caught." He arched a brow at Roxas. "What are you going to do?"

Roxas waved it off. "You guys'll need someone to cover for you. I'll do it."

* * *

"I can't find anything."

Riku stood near the doors of what was originally Captain Hook's stateroom, acting as a lookout. Though he was technically captain, Peter spent very little time in his new room, preferring to stalk all around the deck, shouting orders to his crew. It was mostly Ravello's place, as he had no real use on deck, and Peter took great pleasure in striding over to the door and roaring Ravello's name into the stateroom.

But Ravello wasn't there at the moment. He was currently doing something for Peter; helping one of the Lost Boys mend the nets or something.

Which was why they'd felt it was safe to do a little snooping around.

"Are there any secret drawers or anything?" The silver-haired teen suggested. Sora's head popped up over the edge of the desk, and he saw the younger Keybearer arching a brow at him. "What? You're the one who was so enthusiastic about this, not me. _And _you're the one who's watched all those spy movie things."

The sound of footsteps suddenly reached Riku's ears. He glanced over at Sora, who also heard the approaching noises from his spot at Peter's desk and looked back with wide blue eyes.

As the footsteps got closer, Riku spotted an out-of-the-way pair of doors, standing ajar and looking like they led to some sort of storage cupboard. With a quick jerk of his head, he called Sora's attention to the potential hiding place. Quickly, the brunet teen ran over and tugged the doors open, slipping inside.

There wasn't a whole lot of room with the brooms, buckets, mops and other cleaning supplies. Carefully, Sora pressed himself between broom handles and shelves of rope and bottles, but even so, Riku had to press close to be able to shut the cupboard doors. He let go of the inside handles, but swore under his breath when they swung away, obviously broken somehow. Unable to turn without knocking something over and thus giving them away, the silver-haired teen had to grab the doors again and hold them closed behind him with both hands.

Sora's mouth was dry. There was hardly an inch of space between the two of them. Closing his eyes, he swallowed. "Man, I hope we don't get caught." He breathed. "This'll be harder to explain than if we were just standing around in there."

Under Sora's whispering, Riku could hear the footsteps stop, just before the door to the cabin creaked open. He tightened his grip on the handles, hoping neither of them would slip out of his grasp. But there was a slightly more alarming matter at hand; Sora, obviously nervous, was still talking, and that was more likely to give them away than a couple of broken doors. Without speaking himself, or letting go of one of the doors at his back, there was really only one way to shut him up.

That was fine, though. He'd been looking for an excuse for a while now.

The press of lips against his startled Sora into silence. Without consciously meaning to, he arched, his eyes sliding closed as one shaking hand lifted and buried itself in silky silver hair.

_'Oh, _shit_. This is...a little awkward.'_ Riku had _not_ expected that reaction. Especially not now. Although he momentarily contemplated the explanation they'd have to give if whoever had just come in found them effectively making out in the closet, he decided to go with the original plan and broke away instead. He did, however, nuzzle close just long enough to breathe in Sora's ear, "Hold still."

Those two words sent a lance of ice down Sora's spine, dousing the sudden fire as if he'd been dunked underwater. He was abruptly recalled to the situation at hand, and when he realized he'd actually _forgotten_ where they were and what was happening, he went scarlet with embarrassment. Heat enveloped him again, but this was a very different warmth than what had flared up just moments before. This gnawed away at him like a parasite, souring his stomach and making him feel like he was going to be sick. He buried his face in his hands, feeling like the biggest fool in all the worlds.

A tiny nudge to the top of his head made Sora look up again. Riku canted his head back towards the cabinet doors, directing the brunet's attention that way. He was confused for a moment before he heard a voice; whoever it was that was in the room was talking to themselves.

"...and Pan is the only one who can get them for me!" The voice was Ravello's. "I'm almost glad I was caught, now...I never could have done this looking like myself. Pan, you codfish! Your days are numbered!" There was the sound of shuffling papers and a cheerfully whistled tune. Then, finally, the footsteps advanced on the door, which opened and then shut again before Ravello walked away.

Carefully, Riku let the doors of the cabinet open, freeing them. With a sigh, he backed off, looking around again. "So, it sounds like Ravello is out to get Peter." He commented.

"Riku?" Sora's voice was small. Turning back, Riku saw that the younger teen still stood inside the cabinet, flushing a vivid red. He stared down at his hands, unable to meet Riku's eyes. "I...I'm sorry."

Riku sighed. How like Sora to apologize for something that wasn't at all his fault. "No, Sora, I should be the one apologizing. I didn't realize you..." He hesitated, trying to find words slightly more diplomatic than the ones that had been about to come out of his mouth. "...that you would react like that. I just meant to keep you quiet. I'm sorry." Reaching out, he offered a hand to the young brunet. "C'mon, let's get out of here and tell Peter."

Sora looked up, surprised, his cheeks still dusted with a faint red. A tiny, sheepish smile touched his lips. "Might be a good idea." He admitted. Instead of grabbing the proffered hand, he took ahold of the doorway before carefully extracting himself from the brooms and mops in the cupboard.

* * *

They tried to get a moment with Peter to talk with him about Ravello, but the boy was too excited about a worn roll of parchment he'd found in the pocket of his pirate coat.

"Treasure on Neverpeak!" He crowed. "Sounds like an adventure to me! Maybe it'll be the best adventure in the world!"

Sora blinked at him in surprise, momentarily distracted from the reason why they'd come to talk in the first place. "But Peter, what would you do with treasure?" He asked. Peter looked at him as if he were stupid.

"Keep it, of course! It's treasure!" He turned away. "On deck, you dogs! Set a course for Neverpeak!"

And before Sora could say another word, the boy who never grew up turned away, shouting orders to his crew. The Keyblade Master stared strangely at Peter.

"Let me guess." Came Riku's voice from over his shoulder. "You found that even more unusual than I did."

Sora nodded, pushing aside welling feelings of awkwardness as a puzzled frown furrowed his brows. "Peter's not really a 'treasure' kind of person." He mused aloud. "He's all for adventure, really, not for collecting shiny stuff."

"Well, that's a little weird." Roxas commented. He, too, watched Peter rather curiously. "I wonder why he'd be acting funny."

The brunet sighed. "All right. We'll keep an eye on things for now." He decided. Speaking of that... "Has anyone seen Kairi?"

Riku felt his lips twitch. "You know her, Sora. She's probably off bonding with Wendy."

Sora couldn't help a half-smile of his own. "Yeah, probably." He agreed. "We should probably find her, though. I don't know the Lost Boys very well...I wouldn't be surprised if they were mischief-makers."

They found Kairi easily enough, near the prow of the ship and talking with Wendy, as they'd suspected. The young Londoner, however, seemed to be fairly at ease, even among the near-feral Lost Boys. Obviously, they didn't bother her too much.

"Peter seems to be quite enthusiastic about this treasure." She was saying thoughtfully. "I wonder what it is?"

Sora shrugged. "I don't know." He replied. "I'm not even sure _he_ knows. I think he just wants it because it's treasure. Something new, you know?" He watched, a little concerned, as Peter stopped his swaggering across the deck and coughed, deep in his chest. Distracted by the sound, Wendy got up and walked over.

"Peter?"

"Argh!" The boy shook her off. "Blasted girl. You don't see me fawning and fussing. It's just a cough." When he looked up, his face lit up. "Avast!" He shouted, running for the side and brandishing his dagger at Neverpeak. "I shall conquer you, Neverpeak, and win your treasure!" Spinning around, he fixed them all with bright, shining eyes. "How 'bout it? Let's get that treasure!"

"Yeah!" Michael cried, as the Lost Boys whooped and cheered. Wendy's brows were drawn, though, when Peter met her gaze. He scowled at her, but then seemed to soften.

"Aww, c'mon, Wendy. I'm sure there's a nice, shiny silver crown and some pretty jewels in there for our Darling mother." He patted the top of her head. Piqued by the idea of jewels, but still looking rather disapproving, she walked off to the rail, looking out at Neverpeak. The top was shrouded in thick, dark cloud.

"Where does the map say the treasure is, Peter?" She asked. He grinned.

"Up at the very top, of course! Why, what kind of adventure would it be if we didn't have to go through that?" He pointed at the storm on the summit. From the look on her face, it was obvious she would rather have a less-exciting adventure.

Kairi wasn't too pleased either. "That's going to be a mess." She commented, practical as always. "We could lose half the Lost Boys, _and_ each other, if we aren't careful."

"We don't have to go with him." Sora shrugged. "He wants this treasure. I'm fairly certain there won't be a key tangled up with it. We could easily sit this one out."

Riku shot him a sardonic look. "Where's _your_ sense of adventure?"

_'I left it in that storage closet.'_ Was Sora's first thought, but he shook that off. "Considering the close calls we've had this time around, I'm surprised I still have one." He retorted.

"But what about Ravello?" Roxas' voice dropped to barely a whisper. "Aren't you still suspicious of him? Didn't you guys find anything?"

The two Islanders exchanged _looks_. "That's a point." Sora admitted. "If something came up, would Peter and the others be able to handle it?"

"We didn't find anything, really, but we didn't exactly have much time to look." Riku commented, somewhat thoughtful, trying not to watch Sora fight to keep from blushing. He couldn't help a twitch in his lips, though. "So maybe we should go along, just in case?"

The Keyblade Master watched the storm around Neverpeak, blue eyes concerned. "I don't like the idea of having to go through that."

A hand ruffled his hair. Just by the feeling, he could tell it was Riku, and he swallowed a shiver. "Don't worry, Sora. We can handle it." The elder teen's voice was cocky. "We've survived all sorts of storms on the Islands."

"Drop anchor!" Peter roared from the helm. Sora shrugged.

"I guess it's now or never, then." He decided. "So, who's in?"

* * *

What they'd forgotten was the snow.

So high up the mountain, the rain they'd been expecting turned to sleet and then to snow, so heavy that Sora brought Roxas back to the _Jolly Peter_ so that they could teleport back to the Gummi Ship and fetch the gifts they'd received from Jamestown. They also brought down the capes from their costumes from Beast's Castle, for extra warmth. Sora's faerie-wrought clothes provided him with enough protection that he didn't need his, but he handed it off to Goofy, who didn't have a cloak from Jamestown. Riku, figuring he could do without his as well, gave it up to Kairi. She thanked him with a nod, trying to grin around her chattering teeth.

Now snug in his deerhide cloak, Mickey ran ahead with Donald, making sure that their path was clear before everyone else made the trek through the snow. A few times they had to climb around instead of up, trying to get around avalanches of snow or rocks or fallen trees.

With every delay, Peter grew more and more irritable. Ravello was constantly at his side, helping him up when he fell, or tucking the red pirate coat more tightly around the boy's thin form. This gave the Keybearers no time at all to tell Peter their suspicions about Ravello, to Riku's chagrin. The longer they waited and the more Ravello helped him, the less inclined Peter would be to believe them.

And it didn't help that the climb got harder and harder as they went.

Luckily, the storm subsided as they neared the summit. But Peter's cough only got worse; by the time they could see the top of the mountain, hacking fits were overtaking him every twenty minutes or so. Even Roxas was worried, though the boy cursed anyone who got close enough to help him and wasn't Ravello. He was even snapping at Wendy.

"I _banish_ you, you lily-livered _coward_!" He finally shouted at one of the Lost Boys; Slightly, Sora remembered his name was. The Lost Boy stumbled back, looking horrified.

"Peter, please!"

The boy snarled at him. "Go on. Get out of here."

As the other Lost Boys, John and Michael whispered sympathetically amongst each other, Slightly backed out into the trees, disappearing into the woods. "Peter, you're sending him out there alone?" Sora asked, shocked by Peter's treatment of Slightly, who'd just been trying to _help_, after all. The boy who would never grow up rounded on him, scowling.

"Would you like to join him, hmm?"

"You may scare the Lost Boys with your growling and snarling, Peter, but you don't scare me." He retorted, folding his arms over his chest. "You remind me of Hook, angry all the time and constantly yelling at people."

Everyone froze, turning to look at Sora and Peter. The boy stared down the Keyblade Master, watching for any sign of weakness. Then he huffed.

"That's ridiculous."

"Is it?" Sora countered, nodding towards where Slightly had run into the woods. "Do you even _remember_ what you just called Slightly?"

Peter opened his mouth to retort, then hesitated. "That doesn't mean anything." He finally protested. "I'm captain of a pirate ship now, aren't I? So why shouldn't I talk like a pirate?"

He stalked away through the snow, motioning for the Darlings and the Lost Boys to follow him. As they started to leave again, Riku came over, leaning down until his voice dropped directly into the younger Islander's ear.

"Is it just me, or is his hair darker?"

Sora's eyes narrowed, trying to see what Riku meant. Peter's hair _did _look rather darker...but was that just the light? He wasn't sure. "I don't know. Maybe." He replied. "D'you think maybe something's going on, like...I don't know...he's changing or something?"

"Given where we are, I wouldn't be surprised." Riku shook his head. "Come on. We'll probably find out soon enough."

Not sure he liked that idea, Sora followed, hoping deep down that they were wrong.

* * *

More clouds threatened overhead by the time they reached the summit, dark and heavy with additional snow. Peter was so anxious they nearly lost him and Ravello a few times, as the boy hurried ahead with his valet, leaving the others to struggle through the snow. Even Peter, though, seemed to be feeling the effects of the cold, wrapped tightly in the pirate coat and still shivering and coughing madly. When they finally reached the treasure site, according to the map, they found the boy digging through the snow so viciously that he stained it red with blood. Hating to see anyone in pain, Sora yanked out a Potion, hurrying over and kneeling by Peter's side.

"Slow down!" He snapped, pouring the soothing green liquid on Peter's raw hands. It helped, but not enough, as the boy barely stopped long enough to let the wounds heal before he was at it again. Not willing to use another Potion, Sora backed off a step or two and cast Fire, melting a ring in the snow. Peter screeched his fury and yanked his hands back from the flames, waiting until they dissipated before he began to dig again.

"I'm almost there, I know I am!" He managed between coughs. "The treasure...it's here!"

He'd uncovered a corner of a chest, a dark brown wood. Summoning his Keyblade, Sora hacked through most of the rest of the ice with the blade, letting himself and Peter each take two sides of the brown box. They hoisted it out of the snow and ice, Peter fumbling with his injured hands before he finally growled and sat back.

"I can't open it!" He despaired. "I have the treasure, but I don't even know what it is!"

Sora shot him a look. "This is why you ask the kid who has the key that can unlock any lock to help you." He commented, walking on his knees over to the front of the chest. "Now go let Kairi treat those hands of yours while I get this open."

"No! I must have the treasure!" The boy was frantic by now. "I must!"

With a sigh, Sora relented, snapping open the lock on the chest and letting Peter open it. Inside were innumerable objects cast in sparkling silver. Peter hauled out a large silver trophy, grinning even as he smeared it with crimson blood.

"I have it! The treasure! It's-" He suddenly cut himself off with a strangled gasp, staring at his reflection in horror. His hair and eyes were dark, not bright, nearly black in the light. And the makings of a moustache and goatee had sprung up on his chin, barely there.

He...he looked like...like _Hook_.

"It wasn't Peter who led us here." Sora looked up in surprise at Riku's voice to see he'd drawn his Keyblade. He was watching Ravello with cold turquoise eyes. "_He_ did."

Ravello sneered. "You always were a clever boy, weren't you? So clever you allied yourself with Maleficent and dove headfirst into the darkness."

Sora went cold, drawing his own weapon as he backed away. "I knew there was something wrong with you." He declared, blue eyes narrowed. "Obviously the crocodile didn't eat much."

"Sora? Riku? What are you talking about? What's _he_ talking about?" Kairi asked. Ravello bowed to her with a flourish, snatching the pirate hat off Peter's head in the process.

"Dear princess, you obviously don't remember your time among my men. That's right, of course you don't; you were without your heart at the time, wasn't she, _Riku_?"

Riku's eyes narrowed. "You say that like _I_ took it, Hook."

"Ah, but you were certainly instrumental to the process, weren't you?" The pirate captain snatched up his old coat when Peter threw it off hurriedly, slipping it back on. In moments, he'd returned to his old self, complete with his steel hook, gleaming wickedly in the light.

"I- I _trusted_ you!" Peter was obviously disgusted with himself. "I made you a part of my crew, and I had no idea! I should kill you now for the treason, you- y-you...mutineer!" He reached for his dagger, which, alas, was no longer there. He leapt into the air as if to fly around to distract Captain Hook, but dropped and hit the ground with a _thud_, his shadow flapping in tattered rags from his feet.

"Peter, your shadow!" Wendy cried. "It's gone!"

"I cut it off, you see. Just as I combed the imagination out of your hair as your dearly devoted butler, and bestowed on you my own wishes and dreams through my old coat." Hook sneered, as the boy went pale. "You cannot fly...and you cannot fight. Now that you've given me my heart's desire – the treasures you searched for – you shall die, Peter Pan." He lashed out with his hook, though the boy was still quick enough to dodge. But Peter was horrified by the loss of his abilities, so much so that instead of running, he stumbled, dropping to his knees in the snow. With a shout of triumph, Hook raised his hand again.

A shot of Dark Aura to his face knocked him back, yelping and spluttering. He looked up with a snarl to meet not only Riku's cold turquoise eyes, but Sora's determined azure ones as well. The Keyblade Master had placed himself directly in front of Peter, weapon brandished. Just behind him, Riku raised the hand that sparked with the remaining energy of his Dark Aura. One by one, each of the others came to support or protect Peter.

"Looks like you'll have to go through us all first, Hook." Roxas' voice was cold. "You think you can?"

"Not alone, I assure you. Such valiant bravery." The pirate captain's lips twisted in a smirk. "But what about my allies?"

Suddenly, without warning, a band of wild boys, more fierce even than the Lost Boys, jumped out of trees and snowbanks and caves, yelling and shouting.

John's eyes went wide. "Peter, it's all the Lost Boys you've banished before!"

"The Long Lost Boys. Curious how being banished by the Boy Who Would Never Grow Up made them so open to my offer; I would bring them back to Neverland from Nowhereland if they would just join my crew, now that you've decimated what's left of it." Turning, Hook sniffed rather derisively at the figure of the floating _Jolly Peter_ in the sky. "It's dreadful, what you've done to my ship."

"My ship! I won it from you, Hook, fair and square!"

"And here I come to reclaim it!" Hook spat. "I shall have back what's mine, and what I should have taken so long ago!" He brandished his hook. "Avast, Peter Pan!"

The Long Lost Boys all ran in, whooping and hollering like they were watching a really good sports game. Several of them got knocked back fairly quickly when Riku turned the remnants of his Dark Aura on them, and a handful more were zapped by Donald and Sora's Thundaga double-teaming. Kairi stayed close to Peter, Wendy and Michael, concentrating on keeping them safe, while Roxas, the King and Goofy scattered, taking out the Long Lost Boys one at a time alongside John and the Lost Boys.

While they concentrated on the pirate captain's followers, Riku went straight for the source. Hook looked up from his dogged pursuit of Peter and the others just in time to see the silver-haired teen approaching. He sneered at the sight.

"Trying to kill your demons, boy? I hardly think that will help any. The presence of all this light just makes your shadow stronger, no matter how much you've tried to balance yourself."

Turquoise eyes narrowed. "That's why parts of the shadow have to go first. But they're not here, and you are. So you can be my _target practice_." He spat.

Hook pretended to shiver, then laughed. "Has the Keybearer seen this hate in you, Riku? Or have you hidden it from him, knowing that he would turn his back on you for it?"

"This is doing nothing to distract from the fact that you have no weapon, Hook, except for that piece of shit you wear instead of a hand." The elder Islander snarled. It was obvious, though, that the pirate had touched a nerve. "I have reach, and magic to fall back on. You can sit there and jabber all you want; that doesn't change the fact that I'm in position to kick your sorry ass."

"Then do it, boy." The pirate taunted. "Come. Be a _man_."

The steel hook caught itself quite securely in the 'webbing' of the Way to the Dawn as the Keyblade came swinging in. Riku took full advantage of this, using the leverage he'd gained to yank Hook off-balance and hammer his back with Dark Aura. Wildly, Hook swung back around, the tip of the hook outstretched as if trying to catch it again, this time in either the silver-haired teen's clothes or skin. It slid through his hair, creating a wind as it sailed past his eye, and he jerked back in surprise. The pirate captain was faster than he'd remembered.

A hollering behind him drew his attention, and he spun, firing off a spell without thinking. The Long-Lost Boy that had been nearly about to attack his back slowed, stopped, then tumbled onto his back and seemed to pass out. When he backed out of Hook's range to strike again, he made sure not to step on the boy. A black-green aura surrounded his free hand momentarily before it transferred to his opponent.

It hurt Hook. He could see it, the moment the poison began to take effect. "I thought your magic was to fall back on, hmm?" He managed, fighting to keep his feet. Riku's eyes narrowed again, coldly.

"A skilled fighter uses any and all weapons at his disposal."

The pirate captain laughed. "And so you prove, again, that your darkness is stronger than your light. How long can you stay balanced on the edge, Riku, before you descend into darkness again? It's inevitable, you know. You can delay it, but it will eventually happen. Will your dear Keybearer be able to save you this time?"

The Way to the Dawn pressed into Hook's throat, true edge bared and ready. "I can't think of anything more stupid than to piss me off any more right now."

"I can." The silver-haired Keybearer blinked in surprise when the Captain's words registered, just for that split second before he realized what the pirate meant and jerked backwards, out of range of the hook as it swiped at his belly. Hook sneered as he caught fabric. "Falling into such a blatant trap. You've become cocky and reckless."

Riku was completely unimpressed with the both of them. How the _hell_ had he allowed Hook that opening? Oh, right, because he'd been irritated. It wouldn't happen again. "I'd rather be cocky and reckless than simpering and useless." He retorted, still rather annoyed with himself. "At least I can fight without bumbling around like a moron."

Hook tossed a bomb in his direction. He shot it out of the air with a bolt of Dark Aura, blinding them both when it exploded from the impact. Less hampered than the pirate captain by such a thing, Riku closed his eyes and advanced again, relying on his senses to pinpoint

Hook in the smoke. He felt Way to the Dawn sink into flesh – it felt like a shoulder – and heard Hook yelp with a smirk. A crunch told him the man had tumbled back into the snow. Once he could no longer feel the smoke against his face or smell it in the air, he opened his eyes, moving in again to hold his Keyblade to Hook's throat again. This time, before the pirate could react, he also planted one foot on the hook that was his left hand.

"Anything else you'd like to say?" The silver-haired teen inquired coldly, his free hand circling the flesh just below the Way to the Dawn's cutting edge. "Because if there is, I think you should say it now."

"Wait!"

A hand touched his arm. Startled, Riku jerked away, his fingers still tensed around Hook's throat. Concerned blue eyes met his.

"He's not worth it, Riku."

"That's up to you, boy." Hook managed a sneer. "Am I important enough to be rid of, or am I useless enough to be left alive? It's a harder choice, isn't it, when you tread the path between?"

"Kill him!" Peter shouted.

"Peter!" Wendy, however, was appalled. "That's _murder_!"

But the silver-haired teen wasn't listening to them, watching as Sora's hand came down on his and gently tugged the Way to the Dawn away from Hook. "This is Peter's fight." He insisted.

It took some effort, but Riku backed off, dropping his Keyblade to his side. "You're right." He admitted, turquoise eyes flashing as he glared at the cowering man before him. "You're Peter's problem, not mine."

And with that, he turned and stalked away, leaving Hook to Peter, the Lost Boys, and the Darlings.

* * *

"Hey."

Surprised, Sora looked up. Riku stood on the Clock Tower's ledge next to him, obviously having teleported down from the Gummi Ship. "Hey." He replied, hunching forward slightly. "Thanks for coming."

Riku's lips twitched. Inwardly, he was glad that Sora seemed to have forgotten that afternoon's events. "Did you think I wouldn't?" He inquired dryly, sitting down on the ledge beside the smaller teen. Sora shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess I felt like I had to say it." When Riku didn't reply, the Keyblade Master realized it was because he was acknowledging that, and his need to speak first. So he took a deep breath and began. "I'm sorry for what happened in Peter's stateroom. Well, okay, maybe not really." He amended, after catching Riku's dubious look. "But I didn't really mean for it to happen. I guess I just wasn't thinking." _'Maybe not with my brain, anyway.'_ He chided himself, blushing before he could help it. Obviously catching the gist of the unspoken self-scolding, Riku barely suppressed a smirk.

"Happens to the best of us, Sora."

"But I just wanted to tell you, because I don't want...whatever this is...interfering with our friendship." The brunet continued, sounding rather rushed. He grimaced after a moment. "That sounds really girly of me. I-" A moment went by as he tried to think of how to phrase what he was trying to say. "I don't want you being...uncomfortable around me. I mean, I'd understand it if you were, but I hope we don't have to go through that. Because...we already kinda did it once. And I don't want to have to worry about...about _losing_ you again. I don't know if I could-"

Just like in the storage cupboard, the touch of lips against his own cut him off rather abruptly. A surprised noise escaped him, and he found himself clutching Riku's shoulders for balance before he could stop himself. As his eyes closed, he felt a hand splayed against his lower back as if to support him.

The kiss left him momentarily breathless, his head spinning. As such, it took him a second to get his brain working again. "I...uh..." He stammered. "What was I saying?"

Riku couldn't help smirking this time. "Something about being afraid that I would be uncomfortable around you." He replied. "Which doesn't seem like something you should be worried about to _me_."

"No...I guess not." _That_ idea was suddenly really stupid. What had he been thinking? "Could we maybe...do that again? You know, now that I'm not so distracted?"

The silver-haired teen threw his head back and laughed. He never, _ever_ thought he'd see the day. "I think we might be able to arrange that."

In one of the very back corners of his mind, Sora couldn't help marvelling on how fast things tended to happen when one wasn't paying attention. In another, he realized the ledge he was suddenly lying on was very cold, and getting colder. He arched, pressing himself against Riku's long, thin form.

Hands suddenly gripped his hips and gently pushed him back down against the stone. The younger teen murmured a complaint, but one look into Riku's intense turquoise eyes made him pause. "What?" He asked.

"Sorry. I...I just..." _'...didn't want to lose control.'_ That contact, coupled with the kiss, had sent all sorts of rather explicit images tumbling through his mind, all of which were best left for a more private location. He shook his head. "Maybe we should find somewhere a little less...exposed. Maybe even back to the Gummi Ship."

Sora took a breath. Perhaps that _was_ a good idea...after all, they were rather precariously perched. Not even a foot to his left was a drop, all the way to the streets of Wendy's home city. _That_ was a harrowing thought. "Yeah, okay. Maybe we should." He agreed, sitting up. In doing so, however, he very nearly bumped heads with Riku. He flushed red and laughed, murmuring an apology.

"C'mon. Let's go."

* * *

They ducked into the closet-sized space that served as 'Kairi's changeroom' on the Gummi Ship. It was the most-enclosed area of the ship, and, more importantly, it had a door...one that locked.

_Much_ better than the top of the Clock Tower.

"Riku?" The Keyblade Master was breathless, his voice barely a whisper. "How did this happen? I mean...did you ever think about anything like this?"

Riku seemed to have a bit of a war with himself before he responded to that one. "Yeah, I thought about it." He admitted, much to Sora's surprise. "Once or twice. Especially when I was wandering around in the darkness. It's easier to entertain things when you're pretty damn sure they aren't going to happen. I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again...or that you'd ever _want_ me to see you again."

"You idiot." Sora's frown was rueful, bordering on the edge of irritated. "How could I possibly have gone home without you? Nothing would have been the same."

A considering smirk. "You would've had pretty much a straight shot to Kairi."

The young Islander sputtered for a second before he laughed. "Riku, if we'd wanted, it would've happened. Who's the one I'm currently closed in with, huh?"

Riku blinked. "Why haven't we taken advantage of this, by the way?" He inquired. Sora scowled.

"Because we're too busy sitting here discussing how we-"

The kiss was dizzying, cutting off any protests or comments on how often he ended up getting interrupted like this. A tiny nip on his upper lip made the brunet gasp, his mouth opening in surprise. This was quickly taken advantage of, and a moan was dragged from him as his hands lifted and raked through silver hair again. Arms slid around his waist, one hand supporting his back as he arched, while the other slid up under his shirt, calluses tracing rough paths along the muscles of his abdomen. His heart quickened, pounding in his chest with excitement, and a noise left him, something that sounded like a whimper but left the same feeling as a moan.

Oh! A touch, a thumb, rimming his bellybutton. His hands, clenched in Riku's hair, went slack with shock at the liquid pull just below his navel. "Again." He gasped. The second time was more intense, the shockwaves reaching even deeper than before. It was amazing how even just something so almost-natural could feel so..._different_.

With a grin and a chuckle, Riku slid his hand higher, leaning forward a little more to rake his teeth over Sora's ear. This was...pretty fun, he realized, tweaking the nub that he suddenly found under his fingertips, relishing in the shudder and quick little noise that followed. It was deeply, instinctively satisfying to watch the Keyblade Master slowly lose control.

_'How intriguing.'_

Riku froze. Luckily, any interrogation Sora might have given him was quickly overridden by a knock and another new voice, this one from the living area where their beds were, through the door.

"Hello?"

Sora swallowed hard, looking up at the door in surprise. He hadn't expected Kairi to need to change so quickly. "Uh, yeah, sorry, Kairi. Give me a sec!"

"Sora?" She sounded rather confused. "What are you doing in there? And why is the door locked?"

_'Crap. Crap crap crap!'_ He panicked a little, trying to think of a good reason. "Um, sorry! I think I flipped the lock by accident." He called. "I was just...looking for some spare Gummi Blocks! Just in case, you know? Goofy thought there might be some in here!" A brilliant idea occurred to him then. "Could you maybe let him know I didn't find any?"

There was a pause, a breath too long to be natural. "Okay." She didn't quite sound convinced, but footsteps told them she'd left to go do it. Leaning back against the wall, he wiped his forehead, taking a deep breath to slow his racing heart.

"Come on. Let's get out of here before she comes back." Feeling awkward now that they'd been interrupted, Riku waited a breath more before opening the door carefully, motioning for Sora to leave first. He took the opportunity to press a quick, though rather distracted kiss to the younger teen's temple.

"You okay?" Sora canted his head a little, obviously sensing that something was up. Riku nodded with a soft sigh.

"Yeah. Just...irritated that we were interrupted." He flashed a half-smirk, hoping that would make it seem more natural. "We'll have to find somewhere a little more secluded next time."

The Keyblade Master flushed lightly, straightening his clothes before he crept out of the room. Riku waited a few beats before following him, somewhat relieved when he saw Sora had left the room completely. He sank down on his bed with another sigh.

Damn it, what was he going to do _now?_

* * *

_-_insert evil laughter here-

Yes, I'm cruel. C'mon, guys, did you _really_ think it would be as easy as it seemed?

So, yes, things have officially gotten good. :D Stay tuned, I'll see if I can post a new chapter next week for you.

Love,

Ivy J.


	28. Chapter 28

Okay, umm...

I'm really sorry, guys XD I'm working, I really am, but you see, I've delved into roleplaying again with a vengeance...My best friend, who you will never, _ever_ find on here, has decided she really doesn't mind Kingdom Hearts after all. And she's just a phenomenal writer. So...I've been rather distracted by that. And I've had this chapter done since I updated the last time, but I didn't want to post it because that would leave me on par with myself again. But I've decided it's silly to hoarde it, now. You guys deserve better XD.

Work has gotten in the way too, as has school. Ivy J cannot Macgyver a chain, no matter how amazing she thinks she is. Lesson learned.

E.S. Rockbell: Well, you get to find out :D I particularly like this next world, it's been very fun to write, although I'm still stuck on the ending XD.

Mangiana: You know, I thought it should be Neverland from the very beginning of my writing. I'm not sure why, really, as Neverland is all about being childish and not growing up. But I think that's part of the point; just because Peter doesn't, doesn't mean that no one else does. So I guess that's why :D Besides, them on the Clock Tower was _hot_. I mean...-shifty eyes-

Neko Ninja Hezza: That's okay, your review for this one makes up for it :) I'm working on the Akuroku, and it's coming, but it's not writing very well because I'm so used to Soriku XD It's a very different dynamic, between Axel and Roxas. But it's within five chapters or so of this, if I recall correctly XD It's been a while since I looked at my outline.

Nekotsubasa: I adored your review, by the way. Just so you know. XD I'm always the most unsure about my makeout-scenes-bordering-on-the-edge-of-lemon-and-what-follows-after, 'cause I'm rather limited on that sort of experience, lol. 'Specially with two guys. But that's what research is for! :D Very _fun_ research. -shifty eyes- Minotaur's FTW.

calmxbeforexthexstorm: Yes, action! I TOLD you guys it was coming. Did I lie to you? Nooo! :D So obviously you guys were pleased with it, because everyone's all like "YAY! :D".

LupinandHarry: Yeah, everyone's very pleased. I'm so happy :D Let's just hope you all don't stop reading after this one -shifty eyes- More incentive for me to keep writing.

Naruta13: Yeah, Pride Land can get violent. I figure he woulda been rather rattled, though, it wasn't meant to seem 'imminent-death!' bad, lol. -catches when you swoon- :D

mochiusagi: I find it hilarious that everyone's getting mad at Kairi when she's not the one who actually stopped them XD Granted, they would have stopped when they heard her, but I think they would've found someplace else has someone _else_ not thrown in their input, guys XD Seriously.

The Quiet Shadow XVII: ACK, UNINTENDED SPOILERS! I mean -shifty eyes- lol, j/k. Note to self: Check words in other languages before writing a non-English title. The title is in Latin, you see. It's supposed to read something along the lines of "Ten Keys to Light". That little makeout scene was _meant_ to be hot, lol. So I'm glad it did what it was supposed to. Kairi's not really meant to be a yaoi fangirl, per se, she just sees it between them and understands that it makes them happy. Or it will. Eventually. Right now they're a little sidetracked by the whole 'epic quest' thing. I have plans for her anyway, though not here :D. Like I said to Neko Ninja Hezza, up there, Akuroku is coming, it's just coming very slooooooooooowlyyyyyyyy, 'cause I'm finding it difficult to write. That, and the lack-of-room on the Gummi Ship makes it difficult for them to have the encounters that they would need to develop, lol. So it's coming. Just...not yet XD. And I would be very, very happy if some of that Soriku/Akuroku art was based on my stuuuuuff -hint hint- XD I would be drawing my own, you see, but unfortunately, my pencils don't seem to want to cooperate with me any more...I think they feel overshadowed by my tablet XD

So, everyone: Here's your latest chapter! :D

_

* * *

_

Riku circled his opponent, wary turquoise eyes searching for any hint of his next move. Fiery irises pierced him, regarding him like a wild animal in a trap; cornered, but capable of serious damage if provoked enough.

_"Are you willing to submit to the darkness again, Riku? You could be a great power, wielding it with such fearlessness."_

_"Fuck you." Riku snarled. "I'm not _submitting_ to anything."_

_"And yet you agree to live within the light. Tell me, is that not a submission to a greater power?" Ansem's steel-grey brows rose over his yellow-orange eyes. _

_"The light doesn't try to control me. That's the difference."_

_Ansem chuckled in that all-knowing way that so swiftly pissed Riku off. "Are you so certain of that?" He inquired tauntingly. "Perhaps it is just so devious in its ways that you don't even notice it."_

_Riku bristled, sea green eyes flashing with fury. "Shut the fuck _up_!" He shouted. _

_With another soft laugh, Ansem folded his arms over his chest. "You protest far too much for the thought to not have crossed your mind, Riku." He continued. "You see, I know you better than you thought I did."_

_The silver-haired teen knew Ansem was trying to piss him off. _

_He also knew that it was working exceptionally well._

_Without further thought or delay, he lunged towards the steel-haired Heartless that had invaded him, putting all his strength behind a strike that would pierce the dark being's abdomen. Finally, he would be rid of that voice, whispering deep within his heart whenever he found himself lacking...offering unimaginable power that he only needed to trade his soul and his free will for. He would never be tempted to dissolve into darkness again. He smirked as Ansem simply stood there, waiting for the Way to Dawn to strike him down._

_Suddenly, Riku's path to Ansem was blocked. His eyes widened, and he desperately tried to pull his strike; tried to rein in the momentum he had poured into the movement. But somehow, as if with a mind of its own, his blade dragged him forward, closer and closer..._

_The Way to Dawn Keyblade pierced Sora's chest, burying itself practically to the hilt. All the colour drained from Riku's face as the brunet teen's impossibly blue eyes stared straight into his soul, filled with shock and pain. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, the sight of it shattering Riku's heart into a thousand tiny shards. As he yanked his hand away from his weapon, Sora dropped to his knees, lifeblood beginning to stain his shirt and jacket a sickly, bruised black-purple._

_"No! Sora!" The silver-haired teen cried, shaking violently as he stood there, watching the dying Keyblade Master collapse to the floor. A thicker stream of blood painted a trail along the brunet's cheek from his lips, pooling on the floor beneath his face. Slowly, his head turned slightly until he could look at Riku again._

_"Ri...ku..." He whispered, the light fleeing his eyes, turning the deep, searing blue an empty black. He fell limp, a sickening gurgle pushing more blood from his lips as his breath left him. The bleeding slowed, then stopped altogether. _

_"__**Now**__ will you accept the darkness again?"_

_Riku dropped to his knees, wide turquoise eyes staring at nothing. He could sense Ansem taking advantage of his silence, filling him to the very tips of his fingers and toes with darkness. There was hardly any point to fighting; he didn't_ deserve_ the light, not now. He had let Sora die...worse, he had _killed_ him with his own hands. A complete accident, but an unforgivable crime nonetheless. The black energy overwhelmed him, surrounding his mind, his heart, until all he could see was darkness._

_It was over..._

* * *

Riku surged into a sitting position; eyes wide, chest heaving with panic. His hands shook violently, even when he clenched them into fists to minimize his trembles. The first thing he did after recognizing his surroundings again was to turn around. There, snuggled under the blankets, lay Sora, safe and sound and sleeping rather deeply. Relief flooded the silver-haired teen.

'_It was just a nightmare, Riku. Just a fucking dream._'

He raised one hand to his face to rake his bangs back, but paused, startled, when he felt moisture on his face. Touching his fingertips to his cheek, he found tear-trails painting his pale skin. Not wanting anyone who could possibly be up to notice, he propped his folded arms up on drawn-up knees, buried his face in his arms, and concentrated on stopping the tears.

_'I can't let him touch Sora. What the fuck am I going to do? I have to stay away from him. Maybe I'll...I don't know, I'll leave again! Go off on my own. You can't hurt him...or make _me _hurt him...if he's not around, you son of a bitch.'_

"Riku?"

With a start, he lifted his head to stare at the King; then realized, slightly too late, that had been exactly what he'd been trying _not _do. Under his breath, he cursed Ansem, Xemnas and Xehanort as he carelessly swiped his tears away with a hand. "Hi, King Mickey." He whispered, a little shakily.

The mouse king touched Riku's shoulder, feeling the silver-haired teen's trembles even through his gloves. "What happened?" He asked, the concern evident in his voice. "Are you okay?"

If it had been anyone else, even Sora, Riku probably would have brushed it away, changing the subject almost immediately and trying to make the person who had asked forget about it. But Mickey had been there, in the darkness with him. The mouse king understood matters of darkness better than practically anyone else he knew.

"Yeah, sure, King Mickey. I'm fine. I'm just dreaming of accidentally killing the people I care about." He replied, excessively sardonic.

Mickey's dark eyes softened. Riku didn't fool him. "Y'know that's not gonna happen, Riku." He murmured. "Xehanort's Heartless is just tryin' to scare you."

With a forced laugh, Riku shook his head. "Of course he is. It's working." He fisted his hands in his hair, clutching locks of shining silver as if trying to pull them out. "King Mickey, it worries me. What if I lose control? What if, one day, he takes me over and hurts one of you? What if, somehow, he makes _me_ hurt one of you?"

Mickey clambered up on the bed and actually hugged Riku around the neck. Taken off-guard, Riku blinked, surprised, then awkwardly patted the mouse king on the top of the head, between his round black ears.

"Riku, you're much stronger than you think you are. Trust me." Mickey assured him. "You'll be fine. But if worst came to worst, _we _wouldn't let anythin' happen to you. Or to any of us. We'd fight with everythin' in us to protect you and each other. That's what bein' friends is all about."

A soft smile filtered onto Riku's face. With a sigh, he gently hugged the mouse king back. "Thank you, King Mickey." He whispered. "It means a lot to know that you have so much faith in me."

Mickey chuckled. "Sora and Kairi have faith in you too, Riku. Roxas doesn't really yet, but I'm sure that once you boys start gettin' along better, he will too."

"Of course Sora and Kairi do. They're my best friends, and they have faith in practically everyone." A wry grin blossomed on the silver-haired teen's face. He took a moment to glance at Roxas, who lay asleep, facing the wall on Sora's other side. "And Roxas...I honestly don't know if we're ever going to completely get along. But it means more, if only a little, coming from someone who hasn't known me forever."

"Welp, if you insist. You're welcome." Mickey canted his head slightly. "Listen, would'ja like me to sit here and try to keep the dreams away?"

Riku blinked. "You can do that?" He asked, startled. Mickey grinned.

"I'll do my best. I'm all right." He assured the silver-haired teen when he opened his mouth to protest. "I'm not really all that sleepy anyway. Besides, maybe all y'need is for me to be here. Another friendly presence, I suppose you could say."

The silver-haired teen smiled, a genuine expression of gratitude. "Thanks, King Mickey."

"It's no trouble, Riku. Really." Mickey walked down the bed to settle near the teen's knees. Riku lay back against the pillows and turned to face Sora, who was practically buried in the middle of the bed. A soft smile touched his lips as he reached out and gently ruffled the sleeping brunet's spiked hair. Sora murmured something in his sleep and stirred unconsciously, his cheek coming to rest on Riku's shoulder. A touch of pink crept into the dark Keybearer's skin as he blinked down at the younger teen, who had apparently settled himself and did not stir again. Not willing to disturb him, Riku left him there, shifting just enough to feel comfortable before closing his eyes and inviting sleep back in.

* * *

In the morning he was left with _impressions _of dreams; not actual images, but feelings, and quick moments of imagery. But even that was enough; he was restless and jumpy all morning, trying not to snap at people, but ending up mostly unsuccessful at that attempt. Occasionally he would catch a dark chuckle-sense from the Heartless within, which certainly didn't help.

Why was he suddenly so active again? The silver-haired teen had to wonder. Had he been building his strength this whole time, and had decided to start needling him again because of what had happened between him and Sora?

_'Just like you, Riku, I am a...how would you put it? A jealous son of a bitch?'_

Riku bristled. _'That would imply you had a heart.'_ He shot back. _'But if you did, you wouldn't have to piggyback on mine, now would you?'_

_'I rather like yours. So strong, so valiant. And somehow still childishly loyal.'_ A shiver roiled up and down his back at a whisper-sense of a hand tracing his spine with gentle fingertips. A chill swirled through him, turning his blood to ice. Suddenly he was fifteen again and standing in the chapel of Hollow Bastion, talking with the hooded figure that opened his heart to the darkness.

_'Stop.'_ How was he doing this?!

_'You don't like this little trip down memory lane?'_ Now it felt like the words were being whispered in his ear, with long, thin fingers running through the under-layer of his hair. His eyes slid closed; he _wanted_ to pull away, but he suddenly couldn't move without tremendous effort, and it began to feel like there wasn't much point-

"Riku?"

The voice dragged him back to the present with a gasp, to the Gummi Ship, hurtling through space on its way to Olympus Coliseum. To Sora, who stood before him, holding his shoulders and watching him with worry – and a pang of fear – in those blue eyes.

"What the hell just happened to you?" The Keyblade Master demanded, shaken. He'd come out of the cockpit from piloting duty to see Riku standing at the door to the sleeping area as if in a trance; head tilted back slightly, eyes closed, breathing shallow and somehow laboured. That was _scary__._ "Are you okay?"

It was like a wall suddenly came down. Riku went carefully and neutrally blank, dropping his gaze. "Yeah, I'm fine, sorry. I must have zoned out."

Stunned and a little hurt by how quickly and easily he'd been shut out, Sora let go of the elder Islander's shoulders automatically, but followed him into the room once he'd collected himself again. The silver-haired teen had flopped down onto their bed on his belly, but pushed himself into a sitting position again when he heard Sora's entrance.

"Damn it, what's wrong with you?"

Slowly, Riku's gaze lifted until he could meet Sora's irritated azure eyes with it. "What do you mean?" He inquired, voice just as oddly neutral as the rest of him.

"Don't give me that bull." The younger Islander retorted, folding his arms over his chest. "You wouldn't have retreated like that if you weren't bothered by something. Now tell me – or _somebody_, anyway – before it eats you up inside."

"I-" How was it that Sora saw through him so easily? Was he really so transparent? With a sigh, he shook his head and stood again. Maybe he should tell him now what he'd been thinking since Xehanort's Heartless had interrupted them so rudely the day before. "I...maybe I should go off on my own. Keep looking for the Light Key by myself."

Sora looked up at him, eyes wide. Whatever he'd been expecting, that was _not_ it. "You're kidding me." He said, flatly. "You can't possibly be serious."

Riku glared right back. "What if I am, Sora?" He demanded. "What if I feel like it might be better if I were alone?"

Hurt flowered in those azure eyes at that. "You're saying we're, like, holding you back or something?" The brunet teen spat, obviously stung. "Like it was better when you were alone, before we found you again? Is that what you mean?"

"No, damn it, that's not what I mean." Frustrated, the silver-haired teen gave a soft growl, turning to the window. Things would be so much easier if he just stopped jumping to conclusions. "Sora, I have an enemy inside me, do you not understand that?! Xehanort's Heartless _is still there_. And maybe it would be better if he didn't know how close we were to collecting all the keys. If _I_ was the only person he could possibly be close enough to hurt." He sank down onto the bed, his head in his hands.

He felt a hand touch his shoulder again, gently. "Riku, how long has he been back?! And why haven't you _told _me?!" Sora demanded. "You've been keeping it a secret all this time?"

Riku shook his head. "Kairi knows." He murmured. "I had to tell her...she was going to explain to Roxas why Cinderella was so jumpy around me. And I think, somehow, she already knew. You know how she is."

The brunet's forehead dropped to rest gently against Riku's. "I thought you finally got rid of him when Kingdom Hearts exploded in the World That Never Was." He sighed. "I guess that was too much to hope for, wasn't it?"

"I didn't really realize he was still there until we started on this journey." The silver-haired teen shook his head. "I wouldn't have gone home if I'd known."

_'Liar. You could not have possibly kept Sora away from his home for so long, and you know quite well he would have chased you until you returned with him.' _Ansem taunted from within.

Sora's brows furrowed. "I'm kinda glad you didn't, then. At least you got some time at home." His touch was gentle as he ran his fingertips down the side of Riku's face, tracing the pale skin. "And would this have ever happened, Riku, if you hadn't been with me from the start?"

"Maybe it would be better if it hadn't." His voice dropped to a whisper when ultramarine irises narrowed. "It's..._distracting_, Sora, and as much as we wish otherwise, we both know we can't afford that right now. Not with this whole key-collecting thing we're supposed to be doing."

Sora gave a sigh, standing and walking away with his arms folded over his chest. "What is it with you and running away?" He inquired, turning back to face him. Riku blinked in surprise, not expecting that.

"What?"

"When you thought I'd abandoned you for Donald and Goofy, you didn't bother to _talk_ to me about it. You ran off. When you took back the darkness to help me wake up, you kept an eye on me, yeah, but you didn't come out and tell me you were there until Kairi practically forced you to. And now you want to run away again, just because we've just realized we're...into each other, and it's made things a little more complicated." He blushed a little when he said the last bit, but shook it off and regained his edge. "What gives?"

Riku shot to his feet. "Because Xehanort's Heartless is _threatening_ you, damn it, and I'm not sure I have enough control over him to keep him from carrying out those threats!" He shouted, furious. The moment the words left his mouth, though, he realized exactly what he'd just revealed. With another frustrated growl, he turned away again, resting his elbows on the windowsill and leaning his forehead against the cool glass.

After a moment, he could hear soft footsteps approaching, somewhat cautiously. "He's been threatening me?" Sora asked, voice soft. Reaching out, he put a gentle hand on Riku's shoulder, but drew it back in surprise when he felt trembling beneath his palm.

Riku blew out a breath, raking his fingers into his bangs before he nodded. "Killing you, breaking you down until there's nothing left. Using you as a shield against me. It doesn't matter, he's threatening to do it. I _can't_ let that happen, do you understand me?!" He turned determined turquoise eyes on the stunned teen. "If it means I have to stay away from you until I find some way to get rid of him, I'll do it. The _worlds_ need you, Sora. They don't need me."

"Yeah, they do, Riku. And I do too." Sora reddened again when Riku looked up at him in surprise. "Not like _that_." He clarified, lips twisted wryly. "You'll always be my best friend, Riku, and because of that, I need you by my side. And I'm not the only one. Kairi...and the King..." He gave a tiny smile. "And besides, you're leaving us out of this a little. Who says we're just going to stand aside and let Xehanort's Heartless get his shots in? Even if no one else did, _I'd_ put up a hell of a fight before I'd let him use me as a shield."

Riku couldn't help the grin that tugged at his lips. "King Mickey said almost exactly the same thing." He replied. The smile faded after a moment, though. "But there are times when we're all off-guard. Are you sure you could wake up in time if I were strangling you in your sleep? Would you know it if I suddenly piloted this thing into a star?"

"That wouldn't be you, Riku. And _you'd_ fight it." Sora's lips twitched. "And who knows? Maybe that would give us all just enough of a warning." Reaching out, he gently took ahold of the silver-haired teen's arms. "Please, Riku...don't go. I don't want you out there alone again."

Riku sighed heavily. "All right." He agreed, after a short silence. When he looked up and saw the relief in Sora's eyes, he gave a tiny smile. "I wasn't sure I really wanted to go, anyway." He admitted. "I would've done it...if you hadn't decided to convince me otherwise."

"That's what I do." The brunet gave a wry chuckle. His hand shifted up to cup Riku's cheek as he rose on his toes to kiss him, but a pair of fingers pressed against his lips. He blinked in surprise.

"We shouldn't." When the younger teen's brow furrowed in a frown, Riku took a deep breath, thinking carefully before he spoke. "I don't want to give Xehanort's Heartless any more fuel, okay?" His voice dropped to a whisper again. "I know you can take care of yourself, but I just don't want to wave it in his face. Maybe we can pick up where we left off when I finally get rid of him, but right now..."

Sora's lips twisted into a rueful expression. "You want to protect me." He raised a hand to cut off the protest. "I know exactly what you're saying, Riku, don't try to make it anything different." With a sigh, he looked down, then stepped back, hands raised as if in surrender. "But I understand. I'd probably try to do the same thing, now that I think about it." He gave a tiny, sad smile. "So I guess I can't really argue."

Before Sora could turn away, Riku reached out and took ahold of his shoulder. "Sora?" He called. When the shorter Keybearer looked up again, he caught and held those bright blue eyes with his own. "This doesn't change _anything_, okay? I want you to understand that."

A twitch in the brunet's lips lightened the mood momentarily. "Good to know."

And with that, he pulled from Riku's grasp and left.

* * *

"Hey, Roxas. I'll take over the cockpit duties for now, okay? You go get some rest."

The blond looked up in surprise at Sora's voice. There was a note of something unsettled in it, he realized, and looking up into those eyes identical to his own, he saw the same off feeling reflected in that bright, deep blue. His own narrowed. "Are you okay?"

Sora tried a grin. He wasn't entirely sure he pulled it off, though. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll call somebody in if I need help, all right? You go on."

"That's not what I meant."

The attempted smile faded. "I know it wasn't." He replied meekly. "And I'm...all right, I guess. I just need some alone time, okay?"

"Why?" The blond looked suspicious now. "What's wrong?"

"It's no big deal, Roxas, really. I just want to be alone. Please?"

Realizing he really needed it, Roxas nodded reluctantly. As he left the room, he saw Riku standing at the door of their sleeping area, looking out towards the cockpit. He seemed wistful, a little angry, and a little sad. "What's up with _you_, now?" He inquired. It seemed Riku had zoned out, because he jumped when addressed.

"What?" He asked, before he realized the question and scowled. "Nothing. I'm fine."

The blond could feel the sudden hostility, and that irritated him. "Fine." He replied, with a scowl of his own, watching as Riku turned away. Curious, he glanced back into the cockpit, at Sora, who had set the autopilot and was currently sitting in front of the viewscreen, head in his hands.

There was something here that he was missing, and that bothered him greatly.

* * *

"Sora!"

The Keyblade Master yelped when he found himself caught up in a hug, laughing. "Hi, Herc." He looked around from his new vantage point, about a foot higher than usual. The Coliseum was a lot more crowded than he was used to seeing it, something that struck him with interest. "Wow. There're a lot of people here, Hercules. What's going on?" He asked, as the Olympian hero set him back down on his feet again.

Hercules shot him a thumbs-up. "We're hosting a competition here at the Coliseum, for heroes." He replied. "Competitors have come from all over Greece. You should enter, you and Donald and Goofy. Then maybe you can prove yourselves to Phil's satisfaction."

Sora chuckled. "I have a bunch of others with me now too." He admitted, gesturing at everyone else. "But they don't have Phil's approval. What'll they do in the meantime?"

Blinking in surprise, Hercules looked over Sora's shoulder at the group. "Oh." He took a second to think. "How about Phil and I watch them fight? I've seen how good you are, Sora. I think I can gauge their potential." His eyes lit on Kairi and sobered. "Except you."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why?" She asked, before she really thought about it. Hercules chuckled.

"Phil's a stickler for tradition. Atalanta, the huntress from Arcady, had to wrestle Peleus of the Myrmidons before he'd let her compete. She beat him, too. Phil couldn't believe it."

Glancing at Donald and Goofy, Sora grinned. "Sounds like fun." He replied. "While you're doing that, can I go meet everyone else? I wouldn't mind getting to know a few of them."

The great hero shrugged. "I don't see why not." He pointed out a taller man with red-brown hair. "There's my cousin Theseus, King of Athens. He can introduce you to everyone else while I'm judging your friends."

"Okay." The Keyblade Master grinned, flashing Hercules a thumbs-up. "Awesome. I'll come back to check in on things when I'm done, okay?" He glanced at everyone else, who nodded.

"We'll see you later, Sora." Kairi waved. "Have fun."

His eyes rested on Riku for just a moment longer than the others, but he shook it off, turning away. Roxas caught this, however, and scowled. _'Damn it, it _is_ his fault.' _He realized. Whatever Riku had done, it was the reason Sora was acting so funny. That irritated him to no end.

* * *

Hercules led them into the Coliseum itself, treading softly over the sand that made up the floor. He directed Kairi, Donald and Goofy over to the stands, then went off to find Phil, who stood near the doors, inspecting something that looked rather like a set of free weights. The tiny satyr scowled at being interrupted, but the moment he learned the reason, he brightened again, though he covered it with irritation.

"Well, c'mon already." He demanded. "I have things to do before we can get this tournament on a roll." He pointed one hand at Roxas and the other at Riku. "Get in gear, boys."

"Us?" The inquiry came out of Roxas' mouth before he could stifle it. Riku smirked.

"What's wrong, Roxas? Afraid I'll kick your ass again?"

The blond's temper flared. "And who was kicking whose ass, Riku, before _you_ tapped into the powers of darkness?" He shot back. The Islander's smirk twisted.

"You're no longer a member of the Organization, Roxas, nor are you working with two Keyblades any more." Riku shrugged. "I'd say that evens things out a little."

"Now, boys, don't bait each other." Mickey pleaded. "We're just here so that Hercules can see how well ya fight. There's no need to get upset with each other."

Roxas scowled, walking out into the arena and drawing the Essence of Turmoil. As he walked past the silver-haired teen, he muttered under his breath. "I wonder why Sora's been acting so oddly. D'you have any idea why that would be, _Riku_?"

Riku went very still, the Way to the Dawn materializing slowly in his grip. Was Roxas implying what it _sounded_ like he was implying? "I don't know what you mean, Roxas." His voice was quiet. Roxas' azure eyes sparked.

"I find that a little hard to believe, considering he only started acting the way he's been since you guys had that little talk on the Gummi Ship." The ex-Nobody retorted. "So obviously _something_ happened."

Obviously not realizing that the boys were already fighting, Phil blew a piercing note on his panpipes. "Begin!"

And with that, Roxas lunged at Riku, Essence of Turmoil's cutting edge out and ready.

* * *

The Goddess of Discord, Eris, lay on a cloud above the Coliseum, practically clapping with glee. Despite the fact that the two boys she had been toying with were of another world entirely, her influence affected them exceedingly well. They fought as if to draw blood, and not just to prove their skills. That ought to help discourage Zeus from allowing his son to hold these tiresome battles. Hera herself, Queen of the Heavens, had enlisted her service, insisting that these battles needed to stop before Hercules managed to get himself killed. And while Zeus was exceedingly fond of his son and the Keybearer, his wife had just as much influence over him as Hercules did. Even the great hero Hercules would stop if his father, the Lord of the Sky and the Thunderbolt, asked him to. Hera had only one request, and that was that Eris' influence did not put Hercules in any danger. Perfectly willing to adhere to that one rule so long as she was free to do what she liked with everyone else, the Goddess of Discord agreed. Knowing that it would please him, she had brought her son Strife along and put him to work. He'd done beautifully, pitting all these ferocious young men against each other. She would have to praise him later for his hard work.

A shout rang out down below. Distracted from her thoughts, Eris looked down. The two off-world boys who had been fighting; one with hair of spun starlight, the other of glorious sunshine gold, had stopped. _'Oh, drat._' She mused to herself. _'I guess Strife and I shall just have to work harder._'

One way or another, the blood of a hero would stain the ground. She would make sure of it.

* * *

Briefly distracted by another entrant into the Coliseum, Roxas let his guard down for just a moment. With one swift movement, Riku knocked the Essence of Turmoil Keyblade out of his hands and threw down the Way to Dawn. Both weapons disappeared as the silver-haired teen forcefully shoved Roxas against the wall, his arm pressed against the blond's throat.

"What happens between Sora and I, Roxas, is none of your _fucking_ business." He hissed. "Just because you were once a part of Sora does _not_ make you entitled to know everything that happens with him. So _stop _trying."

"Roxas! Riku, what are you _doing_?!"

At Sora's voice, Riku hesitated before pulling away. Roxas rubbed at his neck, his bright blue eyes hard with fury. With a small huff of displeasure, the silver-haired teen whirled around, not even allowing himself to look at Sora as he left the stadium. He could feel the Keyblade Master's shocked, worried eyes on his back as he stalked out of the Coliseum.

The arena was surrounded by tame wilderness, the nearest town a dark smudge on the horizon. Finding himself in need of some time alone, Riku found himself a tree to settle down under. It wasn't like the trees of home; the bark was rough and cracking, and the leaves were smaller and thinner, but it would do. With a sigh, he sat down, stretching out on the grass and looking up at the green canopy above him. The patterns of light shifting through the foliage drew his gaze. His eyes drifted shut...he would get up in a moment, but right now his eyes needed to rest...

A slim frame materialized in a sitting position on the ground, dark blue eyes watching the sleeping teen whose head now rested on their knees. White-blonde hair, pulled back from a thin face that seemed to be composed of many softened angles, blew gently in the wind, strands pulling free of the knot at the nape of the neck to brush past the figure's cheekbones. A glittering, forest green tunic, hanging to the knees and belted at the waist, outlined a figure that, though slender, was undoubtedly female. A dark brown cape covered her shoulders, left bare by the sleeveless tunic, and one edge of it was thrown back to reveal the ivory stag brooch that adorned her tunic strap. Sandals with cork soles shod her feet, the leather strings that held them on criss-crossed to her knees. A bow and a quiver, both of intricately-carved black wood, hung over her covered shoulder, the arrows in the quiver fletched with white feathers. One long, thin finger gently stroked the hair away from the teen's face as he slept.

"Ooh, is he not _handsome_?" A soft voice cooed from the tree branch above the two. The blonde woman looked up to see a dove sitting in the tree, its dark eyes fixed on her. Moments later, the dove became a woman with long, golden-blonde hair, whose sparkling red dress and golden corset-like garment hugged her voluptuous curves. Her lips, painted a similar shade of red, twisted slightly. "Do you fancy him, Artemis? Will the virgin huntress finally give up her title?"

Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, arched one nearly-invisible brow. "I would have thought you would know better, Aphrodite." She commented. "I have no need for a man, especially not one so young." She looked down at the sleeping child, dark eyes soft. "Besides, he has one he cares for already. I thought you, of all the gods, would know that."

The Goddess of Love and Beauty waved that off carelessly. "So?" She replied. "I would wager my girdle that you could make him forget about his love. Besides...he refuses to give in to his desires anyway. Silly thing. Distance will not do either of them any good."

"I should think you would be touched by his devotion. He only distances himself to protect the Keybearer from the darkness within his heart."

"Oh, he is being overcautious." Aphrodite hopped down from the tree branch, landing without a sound next to the Huntress. "He is strong enough to contain the darkness within him. He has been doing it for a year and a half, now. One would think he would trust in himself enough to make his what should be his." She sighed dramatically, pressing a hand to her heart. "How sweet they would be together. Maybe I will see what mischief Eros can get into." Her golden brows wiggled rather suggestively. Artemis glared at her.

"If you dare, I shall get Zeus to banish your darling son from the Coliseum." She hissed. Aphrodite's bright violet eyes widened.

"You really have a soft spot for this boy, Artemis." She tapped her chin with one slim finger, contemplating that. "Perhaps if I restricted him to the dream realm, hmm? He could work with Hypnos' son, Morpheus. Would that satisfy you?"

The blonde huntress sniffed, clearly displeased. "I would prefer that you restrain yourself and your son from meddling with these children in any way, but if you insist, you know I cannot stop you unless I go to Zeus." She admitted reluctantly. Aphrodite clapped her hands with glee.

"Wonderful! Now, don't let Eos see him. He's a pretty little thing; she might just want to keep him for herself." She vanished with a wink, leaving behind two snow-white feathers crossed on the ground. Artemis sighed, looking down at the sleeping silver-haired teen. He stirred slightly as if roused by the fuss the Cyprian had made when she left, causing the Huntress to strengthen the mild sleep spell she had placed on him so that he wouldn't wake. He was short of rest, she knew; it was best for him to remain asleep long enough to awaken fully rested. Aphrodite was right; she _did_ have a soft spot for the boy, just as she did for all young creatures.

With a soft word from the Delian goddess, the dryad in the tree reshaped her home slightly, the waving cypress becoming more squat, and its branches bending over to enclose the small space where they were, protecting it from wanderers. Now the young silver-haired warrior could sleep in peace, under her protection and that of the spirit of the cypress. Satisfied, the Lady of the Wild Things sat back, leaning against the trunk of the tree, gently stroking the young man's hair as he slumbered.

* * *

Roxas sat just outside the Coliseum doors, resting on the foot of one of the gigantic warriors who framed the doorway. Now that they'd finished testing, he had the rest of the day off to explore, or rest, or do whatever.

Unfortunately, this also meant he had very little to distract him from the fact that he was still _very_ pissed off at Riku.

_'I don't understand how he and Sora became friends.'_ The blond thought to himself. _'Riku can be such an _asshole_. I have just as much a right...maybe even _more_ of a right...to be worried about Sora. Especially when it's _Riku's_ fault that he's acting the way he is.'_

Soft music drifted into his ears. With a sigh, Roxas leaned back, closing his eyes, feeling the tension melt from his shoulders and evaporate away. Turning his head, he looked towards the source of the music and found a young man, looking to be about in his twenties. He sat on a ledge nearby, plucking at a stringed instrument he held in one arm. His bright, golden-blond hair brushed his shoulders, framing a chiselled face with deep blue eyes. He wore a pale yellow garment that wrapped around his hips like a skirt, leaving his chest bare. His sandals were a little like Hercules'; leather, with a strap that held them on looped about each ankle. The music slowed and then stopped as the musician noticed his audience.

"Did I disturb you, young one?" He inquired, his voice soft and deep.

Slowly, Roxas shook his head. "No, you didn't." He murmured softly. "It's not what I would normally listen to...but it's nice. What kind of instrument is that? It looks kinda like a harp." He canted his head slightly. The musician chuckled.

"The tortoiseshell lyre; made by Hermes himself when he was only a day old." Was his answer.

Roxas blinked, curiosity in his bright blue eyes. "He must have been pretty skilled to make an instrument before he could talk." He commented, rather sensibly, in his opinion. But his companion laughed.

"You are one of the off-world children, are you not? You are not familiar with us." He met Roxas' eyes with his own, examining the shorter blond well past the time Roxas would have looked away. "Yes...you are one of the companions of the Keybearer. Forgive me. I am unused to introducing myself." Pulling himself to his feet, he stood up straight, and Roxas was stunned to see that the musician was a good seven feet tall...taller even than Axel. "I am Apollo, God of Light, Truth, and Music."

"Oh, wow." Was all the blond teen could say, eyes wide and round as he stared at the god. "I...had no idea." When the words left his lips, he closed his eyes, his response making him feel rather stupid. Apollo laughed again, softly, but not unkindly.

"You are not alone, young one. Few people, even those native to this world, can discern the gods among men." He settled himself again, placing his lyre on his lap. "Now, something troubles you, I can tell. Do you need someone to unburden your spirit to?"

Roxas shook his head. As tempting as that was... "No, it's no big deal, really." He replied. "Just some...friend troubles."

"Hey, Roxas?"

The blond looked up. Sora was standing at the door to the Coliseum lobby, looking out at the two of them with curious blue eyes. "Who's this?" He asked, canting his head as he came to stand beside his ex-Nobody. Apollo nodded his head – quite respectfully, Roxas thought, for a god addressing a mere mortal.

"Hello, Keybearer." The musician greeted him. "The God Apollo. Hercules has mentioned you frequently."

Sora pinked at the cheeks, caught by surprise. "Really?"

The golden god smiled reflexively. "Your exploits, or what we know of them at any rate, are common gossip around the family table when Hercules comes to visit." Seeing the confusion in both boys' eyes, he explained. "We are half-brothers, Hercules and I. Though Zeus loves his wife, he has...dallied with others, on occasion."

Sora's answering grin was the smile of one who'd heard something so shocking that there was no other response but to laugh. "Oops. Does she know?"

"Nothing can be kept from Hera. She dallies herself when it strikes her fancy, so the arrangement suits them both." Smoothing his features again, he then arched one brow at the Keyblade Master. "What did you come to talk about, young Sora?"

The brunet teen blinked in surprise. "Oh." With a shake of his head, he brushed it off. "Nothing, really. That was just a bit of a crazy match you were just in, Roxas...I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He grinned sheepishly. "You left the Coliseum before I could talk to you."

Roxas shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. "Nah, I'm okay." He started in surprise when Sora's arms slid around his shoulders, capturing him in a jovial hug. "Jeez, Sora, really. I'm fine. It was just a little intense, that's all."

"Good." Sora chuckled at the blond teen. "I'll see you later, okay? I'm gonna go explore."

Shaking him off, Roxas shot him a glare, only half in jest. "Good. Take your hugs elsewhere."

The young Islander grinned, leaving the two to their conversation. It was awesome to know that the gods of Olympus were taking such a personal interest in the Coliseum and those battling there. Maybe there wouldn't be so much interference from Hades or any of his allies this time. That would be great.

Now...if he could only find Riku, and get a real answer as to what happened during that match. The way the two of them had fought worried him. There was something more going on there, and it made him uneasy.

Walking out past the colonnade that ringed the Coliseum, Sora looked around. Since he'd been here last, the Coliseum had moved from Olympus to someplace a lot like a regular old world; no longer did clouds ring the area. The surroundings were mostly wild countryside, with trees dotting the meadow that spread out around the golden stone building. A stone pathway led to the front door of the Coliseum, the edges of the stones worn with age, use, and weathering.

Something odd caught his eye. When he turned to look, he saw a tree that appeared to be bent over, its branches draping to the ground like Grandmother Willow, from Jamestown. But this was the same kind of tree as the tall, branching ones that stood along the path to the Coliseum, hunched over in a position that looked rather...unnatural. Curious, he approached the bent-over tree.

When he reached out to brush a few branches aside to see what they concealed, they stuck firmly in place as if rooted – so to speak. Before he could struggle with them, he heard a low female voice call out something he didn't catch, and the branches parted for him like a theatre curtain. When he saw who was sheltered beneath the branches, he blinked, surprised.

Riku lay on the grass, sleeping rather peacefully. His head rested on the knees of a woman with white-blonde hair and dark blue eyes, who gently stroked his hair. When she looked up and saw Sora, standing there and looking rather suspicious, she raised her hands in a gesture of peace. "I have not hurt him, Keybearer." She murmured softly. "I would no more hurt him than I would hurt you."

"Who are you?" The brunet teen inquired warily, bright blue eyes narrowed. The woman glanced down at Riku, making sure they hadn't woken him, before she met Sora's gaze again.

"I am the goddess Artemis, Huntsman-in-Chief to the Gods." She inclined her head respectfully. "Do not worry. Your friend Riku has rested under my protection since he left the Coliseum. But now that you are here, I will leave if you wish."

"I-" He hesitated, not wanting to end up accidentally insulting her. "You don't have to. I was just..." Trailing off, he searched desperately for something to say.

Artemis chuckled lightly. "You are very protective of your friends, Keybearer, and they of you. You should feel blessed to have so many who care for you." Her long, thin fingers gently toyed with a lock of Riku's silver hair. A tiny smile touched Sora's lips.

"I do." He admitted.

With an approving nod, the divine huntress lifted her hand from Riku's hair. "I believe you two have much to discuss, so I will leave you now." She dipped her head again. As her thin frame slowly melted into smoke, Sora heard the flapping of wings and looked up. A snow-white bird peered at him from one of the branches of the tree, and he could have sworn it winked at him, but he couldn't be certain, because he blinked in surprise. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting on the ground, in exactly the same place the fair goddess had been sitting moments before. Consequently, Riku was now using _his_ knees for a pillow.

Oh, _great_.

'_Oh, come, Keybearer. Do not try to tell yourself you have not wondered what this would be like...' _A voice from the wind floated into his ears, obviously another immortal whispering to him. When he looked up, he saw that the white bird had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a pair of long, thin feathers crossed on the grass. A soft scowl touched Sora's features; while the mysterious voice was right, and he _had_ entertained the notion once or twice, now was _not_ the time. Gingerly, he slid his hands under Riku's head, trying to ease his knees out from underneath the sleeping teen without waking him.

His touch, unfortunately, had the opposite effect. Riku stirred, unconsciously rubbing his cheek against the brunet's hand. As Sora held his breath, turquoise eyes flickered open, fixed on the canopy above them. Shifting slightly, the older teen turned his head a little and then paused, as if noticing that there was more than grass beneath him. His chin lifted, and for a split second, their eyes met.

Startled, Riku surged into a sitting position, turning around to face the Keyblade Master again. His eyes were wide with surprise. "Sora?" He asked, confusion plain as day in his voice. Flushing a deep red, Sora refused to look at him, keeping his gaze fixed on his hands.

"I...I wasn't here before...I didn't mean for this to happen...I just wanted to talk to you..." He fumbled, trying to find the right words. "When I got here, you were already asleep, and Artemis was watching over you."

Obviously not quite awake yet, Riku blinked curiously at him. "Artemis?" He echoed. This time, Sora risked a glance up at him, although he was still a rather vivid shade of crimson.

"The goddess, Artemis." He replied. "She's one of the gods who'll be watching the Coliseum battles. She said that she was protecting you while you were asleep out here." Absently, as he was wont to do when nervous, he toyed with the crown pendant hanging from his neck. "I came out here to find you, to talk to you about what happened during your match with Roxas, and it startled me a little to see her here with you, 'cause I had no idea who she was. She was sitting right here, where I am now, and she left when I got here. I figured I would just sit down and wait for you to wake up, but all of a sudden I found myself sitting here with your head on my knees and I really didn't mean for it to happen, but I think one of the other gods did it and- I'm rambling. Man, I feel like such an idiot." Mortified, he closed his eyes, drew his knees up to his chest, buried his face in them and folded his arms in such a way that they covered the rest of his face.

He heard a muffled sound and, surprised and the tiniest bit curious, he lifted his head just enough for one eye to peek over his arms.

Riku was _laughing_. Just softly, chuckling really, with one hand pressed against his mouth to try and stifle it. After a few moments of helpless laughter, he looked up, a wry smile on his face.

"I think I might have been a hell of a lot more startled if I'd woken up to the face of some unknown woman." He admitted. "So I feel like I should thank this god, whoever it was." Reaching out, he gently ruffled Sora's hair. "At least I got to wake up to a familiar face."

Sora leaned into the touch without thinking. He realized the mistake almost instantly, pulling away again with a sigh. "Sorry." He flushed again. Riku's lips twitched, somewhat ruefully.

"It's okay. You're not the only one who's been tempted."

The Keyblade Master couldn't help a half-smile. "Damn Ansem."

"Yeah." Riku's hand slid out of deep brown spikes, stroking the younger Islander's cheek gently. "Damn him."

It was a long moment before Sora found the willpower to pull away. "I hate to mess this up, but I have to ask." Reaching up, he clasped the elder teen's hand. "What happened with you and Roxas, Riku? That was a really intense fight; you were, like, at each others' throats. What was that?"

Riku sighed. "He seems to think you're acting oddly." He replied. "And that it's my fault."

"Oh." Sora fidgeted, rather uncomfortable. "Well, I suppose he's not too far off, really."

"He also seems to think that you're incapable of taking care of yourself without his assistance. That just because he was your Nobody, it gives him the right to butt his nose into your business...all right, _our_ business," he corrected, when Sora arched a brow at him, "whenever he wants."

Granted, that did irritate him a little. But Roxas was only trying to _help_, really. He didn't _mean_ to be nosy...hell, did he even know _how_ to be nosy? "And you let it upset you to the point where you were practically ready to bash his face in? Just for being concerned about me?"

Riku opened his mouth to protest, rethought, and closed it. Truthfully, he _had_ had that idea. "When you put it that way, it sounds so stupid." He scowled. "But it-"

"It _is_ stupid." The Keyblade Master scowled right back, though his quickly shifted to a rueful expression. "I understand, Riku, I do. But letting it upset you _that _much is going a little overboard, don't you think? I mean, doesn't that make you feel really kinda silly?"

The elder Islander sighed. "I guess so." He finally relented. Swallowing his pride a little more, he asked. "Is he okay?"

Sora's lips twitched. "Yeah, he's okay." He replied. "I think he's just as irritated at you as you are at him, but I think you'll get over that quickly enough. I hope so, anyway."

Riku shook his head. "You take all the fun out of being pissed off, you know that?"

The young Keybearer grinned, flashing him a peace sign. "I know. It's my job."

* * *

Nyahaha, Sora's so cute :D I luff him so.

So, um, I'll keep working! In drips and drabs. Really! XD I have literally everything but the last little bit, and a section in the middle, of Olympus Coliseum to finish. Then I have Radiant Garden, 100-Acre Wood, and a few more places. Then we're off on our next little whirlwind tour, lol. Which ought to be good times...that is, if I can ever get the first place done. T-T

**_WARNING(well, kinda XD):_** Next chapter changes the rating to an official M, just so's I don't have admins breathing down my neck. Don't be too afraid of reading, it's not all _that_ graphic, really. And it's all pretty well marked off, so if you want to skip it, that's fine. You'll get the jist. I imagine everyone will more be looking forward to it, though -shifty eyes-

Love,

Ivy J.


	29. Chapter 29

_All I want for Christmas is some Soriku,  
Some Soriku,  
Some Soriku -heart-_

Yes, I'm totally in the Christmas spirit, which is funny, because this is literally the only day all month I've even felt like it's been close to Christmas XD But I suppose that comes from working for the biggest retailer in North America. My first Christmas season in retail. Good times...really. T-T

BUT! Being out of school offered me some time to work on this! :D So, I managed to finish this chapter, which was really kinda nice XD. I'm in the process of piecing the next one together, but it might take some time. Hopefully, I can get it together before class starts again.

LupinandHarry: I know. I love those boys. They're so cute. In a totally-brotherly sort of way, because I've never seen the appeal of Soxas. It's too...incest-ish.

mochiusagi: Yeah, well, when I started writing this, I didn't know that XD And for some reason, it slipped my mind when I gave the chapter its final passthrough before posting. But I fixed it! XD

Neko Ninja Hezza: Yeah, well, I was looking forward to posting it XD So I guess we're even. And I had so much fun writing that dream sequence. There was another one, originally, but I took it out 'cause I wasn't happy with it.

xYukii: As much as I would love to get Demyx and Zexion involved, I'm stretching it with both Axel and Naminé. I might write some Zemyx at another time, if I end up so inclined. But probably not in this timeline.

aniuwolfe: I love the gods and goddesses. Probably has something to do with my being a Latin student and a myth major in high school. I miss Latin. -chibi-

Hi Kitsune: I don't mind you stalking the story, certainly, just don't stalk me XD

inuliedelfenx: Addicted? XD I love it. And I love your spazzing on my not-so-cliffhanger XD Well, here's the second half of it. Have fun reading :) Hopefully this'll tide you over until my next update.

Hardcore KHfan: Well, I'm glad you found something that meets your needs, and that that something is mine :D If most of my stuff weren't tied into DCL, I'd totally be posting more of it on a regular basis. But, as it is, I can't until I finish this.

Just to repeat the warning-that-isn't-a-warning, **this chapter bumps the rating to M. **It might not be bumped quite yet by the time everyone finds this chapter, so I figured I might as well reiterate that, just so's the younger kiddies who might stumble upon it know better.

So, without further adieu, chapter 29! :D

* * *

That evening, Hercules offered them beds in the Coliseum's barracks for the duration of their stay. However, Kairi would have to stay in a separate compound with the rest of the women – Phil's orders. Meg assured them all that she'd keep a special eye on Kairi, and that the two of them would "have a regular girls' night". When Kairi seemed quite enthusiastic about the idea, everyone agreed and thanked the three of them.

Each of the others was given a single bunk in the barracks. They'd been split up into two groups; Riku, Roxas and Sora with the other mostly-human competitors, and Donald, Goofy and Mickey in another area. Again, an idea of Phil's; here on Olympus Coliseum, those who were humanoid were fairly suspicious of those that were not. All in all, there was only one single problem.

The beds were just _not_ comfortable.

At least, Riku certainly didn't think so. He peered over the mound of bedcovers, looking at Sora, who was already sleeping soundly on his cot across the room. Roxas was a little harder to see, as the two of them were separated by one of the locals, a tall, broad-chested man with dark red-brown hair. Hercules' cousin, he recalled, although the name escaped him right then. Hercules had called him a king, but Sora had said he'd rejected the title, saying that "his people had no king; they ruled themselves." Whatever _that_ meant.

Shifting, he finally found a position that didn't make him go stiff right away. Closing his eyes, he let himself drift, hoping that the steady breathing of those around him would help lull him to sleep. Slowly but surely, he felt sleep calling him.

* * *

_He was suddenly very hot. _

_The feel of soft fabric against his knees and calves told him he was on all fours. Sweat drenched him, although it may not all have been his own, because he could feel a second body beneath him. He was already partway sheathed inside them, and without thinking he pushed deeper. A tiny whimper reached his ears from his partner's lips, and as he kissed and licked the back of the other's neck, tasting his sweat and feeling clumps of silken copper brush his face, he recognized the voice, and the form beneath him. _

_Sora._

_Though hesitation flickered through him for a moment, it was banished when the younger teen's soft, breathless voice spoke his name. Shifting slightly, he withdrew with agonizing slowness before slamming back in again. This time, his response was a soft cry. Blindly, he remembered Sora's complete and utter lack of experience and whispered reassurances against the golden skin of his other's throat. A shudder rippled through them both, almost as if exploring before it returned to reverberate within the slighter form cupped against him. He set up a rhythm, tempering his need the tiniest bit to go easier on the brunet Keyblade Master. _

_Over and over he thrust, the friction and the heat building as he nipped, kissed, caressed and licked the skin beneath him. The muscles in Sora's shoulders stretched and contracted in time with him as the copper-haired teen began to push_ back_, the almost inaudible gasps that left him feeding the building lust. _

_And then he was going faster, and faster, until there was barely a rhythm anymore, just the fire and the fog and the sparkling heat that fed both. Whispers of 'more', and 'harder', deeper and faster and-_

* * *

He gasped for air, his eyes snapping open. His hands clenched in the sheets as his breath came to him in gulps, almost as if he'd been drowning in his sleep. He could still feel ghosts of hot skin, slick with sweat beneath his hands, and the brush of soft hair against his face.

'_Shit. I was screwing Sora. In my dreams. God, it felt so _real_. Fuck, that is _not_ fair._' Frustrated on several different levels, he raked his fingers through his hair, his breathing gradually slowing to a normal pace. It'd been the most vivid dream he'd ever had, even if he included the ones Xehanort's Heartless kept sending him. Somehow, it was more real. More...true to life.

Curious, he looked over at the brunet teen, wondering if somehow they had actually met in the world of dreams. Might be a little difficult to explain, but hey. They were in a world ruled by omnipotent gods that had fun toying with mortals. It could happen.

But no, Sora was still asleep, and if the way he slept was any indication, he most certainly was _not_ with anyone in his dreams. From the look of things, he might crash cymbals in the younger teen's ears and he wouldn't stir. He envied Sora for his ability to fall asleep and _stay_ asleep. At the rate he was going, he would be working on half-nights at best.

"The goddesses playing with you, boy?"

Startled by the sudden voice, Riku turned. Another one of the residents of the barracks, a golden blond with wavy hair, had sat up and was eyeing him curiously. Riku arched a brow. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"The goddesses. Sometimes, the ladies of Olympus will come down and lie with mortal men. Visit them in their dreams. Best dreams you'll ever have." He grinned a little. "Aphrodite herself does it more often than not, but every once in a while you can get Eos. One of the Muses, even."

'_Do they ever masquerade as guys?_' Was his first thought, but he knew better than to blurt _that_ out. Although, now that he thought about it, he had to wonder. Did the _gods_ of Olympus ever do the same? He...wasn't entirely certain whether he was comfortable with that idea or not.

Shaking his head dismissively, he turned away, curling up under the covers again. Would he return to the same dream? Would it be a different dream? Or would they have left him completely?

Somehow, the cot didn't seem quite so uncomfortable now.

* * *

_Gently, his arm slid around Sora's waist, pulling the slighter teen closer. He was still breathing hard; they were so close that Riku could feel the tiniest hints of Sora's heartbeat through his back. Leaning forward, he pressed a soft kiss to the younger teen's temple. After a moment, their lips met when Sora turned his head._

_"You okay?" Riku whispered. Still flushed, the brunet gave a tiny nod._

_"Yeah." He replied, just as soft. "Just worn out." _

_The tiniest hint of a smirk touched the silver-haired teen's lips. "Not used to the exertion, hmm?" He teased. With a half-scowl, Sora pushed at him. _

_"You should know the answer to that." He replied. Laughing, Riku ruffled Sora's hair. _

_"I guess I do." He stroked the other teen's cheek with a gentle hand. There was quiet for a few minutes as Sora curled up in his arms, nuzzling close._

_"Did you ever think this would happen, Riku?" He whispered after a moment. Riku blinked, canting his head slightly._

_"What?"_

_"This. You and me. There was so much that happened, like something was trying to keep us apart. Was there ever a time when you just...wanted to give up?"_

_Silence reigned for a long time as Riku mused on that question. After a little while, Sora turned around in his arms, watching him as he thought. "Riku?" He called softly, wondering if he'd zoned out completely._

_"On us? No." The older teen replied, after a long moment. "But letting you go that day was the hardest thing I ever had to do." Gently, he pressed his lips to the brunet's forehead._

_With a bit of a sigh, Sora closed his eyes. "Sorry." He murmured. The silver-haired teen shook his head, threading his fingers through his lover's chestnut spikes. _

_"Don't apologize, Sora. It wasn't your fault. And I don't know that this would've happened if you hadn't reacted the way you did when I kissed you."_

_The brunet chuckled a little. "I guess I'm glad it happened, then." He replied. _

_"I'm glad it happened, too."_

* * *

This time, when he woke, it wasn't with a start. It was almost like he'd drifted into consciousness, wafting from sleep into waking. He smiled; even if it wasn't real, it helped a lot. It was like actually unburdening himself to Sora (which was always quite effective, seeing as Sora was one of the most supportive people he knew).

It also made it feel like somehow, all this could work out someday. And that cheered him up quite a bit.

Glancing up, he saw pale, early-morning sunlight shining in through the windows. From the look of things, dawn had broken not long before. Everyone else would be stirring in a little while. No sense in going back to sleep.

He was relieved that he'd decided to stay awake when Phil suddenly appeared in the doorway an hour later and began to shout. Immediately, about half the residents of the barracks snapped awake and stared at the doorway with wide eyes. When they saw who it was, however, most of them rolled their eyes and pulled themselves to their feet. Riku felt his lips twitch in amusement when he looked over and saw that Sora had simply rolled over and covered his ears in his sleep. With a sigh, he stood, walking over and sitting on the side of Sora's bed. When he shook the brunet teen, half-lidded blue eyes peered up at him. "What?" The young sleeper moaned.

"Phil just gave us our wake-up call. I suggest you get out of bed before he decides to bang pots together in your ears. I don't think you'll fight well with a headache." Gently, Riku ruffled Sora's hair before he stood, walking away. It took a second more, but Sora finally sat up, rubbing his head.

"C'mon, Sora." Roxas called from the door. He scowled when Riku brushed past him, looking out at the silver-haired teen as he followed the others from the barracks.

A young boy, light-haired and brown-eyed, led them to the dining hall. When he saw Hercules, the boy ran forward. "Am I doing well?" He asked eagerly. Hercules chuckled.

"Yeah, Hylas. You're doing fine." He clapped a hand onto the kid's shoulder. "Now go on. Get a seat, the games start in an hour." Thrilled by the praise, Hylas practically skipped off in his glee, drawing amused smiles from everyone. When the young boy had left, Herc stood up straight, looking around at everyone.

"Come on, guys. Let's eat."

* * *

_'Shit. Figures.'_

Those who competed in the Games were given special seats in the arena. Front row. The calling for the matches was random, so all who participated had to stay in the arena until they were summoned and they fought their opponents.

Which meant that Riku was stuck watching when Sora was called to battle a sandy-haired warrior named Peleus in the first match of the preliminaries.

Damn fate...and the god that probably ruled it here.

At least this way he _could_ watch, though. No one would wonder why he followed the brunet teen with his gaze, keeping an eye on him as if his watching alone could keep him from harm.

Not like anyone paid much attention to him when he wasn't fighting _anyway_. Most everyone around was glued to the ensuing match. Over with Meg and Kairi, there was a fair-haired woman with slightly blue skin who watched the battle with worried dark eyes...obviously Peleus' significant other.

Sitting nearby, however, was someone who was completely distracted from the match. A young man with light brown hair instead chose to stare like a lovesick schoolgirl at the only woman who'd been allowed to compete. She, of course, paid as little attention to him as he did to the battle in the arena.

Riku couldn't help but smirk slightly, watching the cow-eyed warrior out of the corner of his eye. The guy was a lost cause. It looked like the object of his affections wasn't going to be returning them any time soon.

Turning his attention back to the match, he saw that the brunet teen had been backed practically into the wall of the arena. Peleus, taller and more muscled, advanced on him warily. When he went to strike, Sora dropped, rolling beneath his arm, then bounced to his feet and slammed the Keyblade into the warrior's back, lightning-fast. With a pained growl, the Myrmidon leader whipped around and struck the Islander across the chest, knocking him back to the ground. Stunned only for a moment or two, Sora twisted in the sand, trying to knock Peleus' feet out from underneath him. The attack only barely connected, making him stumble, but not drop. He swiped at the young teen, but missed, wobbling back before he caught his balance. This gave Sora the chance to stand again unhindered.

Back and forth they traded blocks and blows, until Peleus managed to connect again with the Keyblade Master's shoulder. A yelp of pain left him as he twisted away, but the injury made the following counterstrike miss. The next impact connected with his side, knocking him into the wall. As the warrior advanced on him again, a desperate strike snapped out, meeting Peleus' face with a loud smack and knocking him to the sand senseless. He stayed there for several moments before Phil called a halt, declaring Sora the winner of the match. In a show of sportsmanship typical of the young Islander, he held out a hand to the Myrmidon, helping him to his feet.

"Good match." He declared, cheerfully shaking the hand he'd taken. Peleus nodded.

"Yes. Good match."

And with that, the blond warrior left the stadium. With a breath, Sora turned to walk back over to the stands, lowering himself into his seat before casting a Curaga on himself. The shallow cut in his shoulder knit itself, a soft red line still visible beneath the slice in the fabric.

Next was Theseus, up against a golden-blond with softly wavy hair; the same warrior Riku had talked to the night before. In the announcements, it was revealed that his name was Jason, from somewhere called Corinth. He didn't exactly pay much attention to the fight, really, except to note that Theseus won. He figured with all the love they were getting from the females in the crowd, as well as their own significant others across the stadium, he could get away with not bothering to watch.

In fact, he didn't pay much attention to the rest of the day either, barely noticing when Atalanta of Arcady proved herself adept at dodging Donald's magic, and Goofy's shield failed to make any headway against someone called Thyestes. The cow-eyed warrior went up against someone else, failing miserably in _that_ attempt. The King's battle against a warrior by the name of Laertes held his attention for a time, but Mickey could handle himself. It was only when he heard his own name called that he managed to yank himself completely from his own thoughts – and damn, given last night, he rather _liked_ it there – and concentrate, finding himself opposite a dark-haired man Phil identified as Priam of Troy. Though the man carried a large shield he imagined would be tough to get around, he made a conscious decision to _not_ use magic.

If Sora could manage it, he certainly could.

His opponent lashed out with his sword, but Riku was built more lithely than he was, ducking away and around the strike so it passed harmlessly within a foot of his side. He spun as he did, slicing a shallow cut in the small of the other warrior's back. Priam flinched, and the counterattack he'd been meaning to use instead missed horribly, but he managed to jerk out of the way of another blow, giving himself a momentary reprieve. He swung again, but his balance was off somehow and he stumbled, the tip of his sword harmlessly striking the toe of Riku's shoe. Aiming an attack his way nearly came to grief when Priam rolled out of the way, forcing the silver-haired teen to move or risk burying the Way to the Dawn in his own leg.

A slice in his arm made him jerk away, looking down as blood began to well sluggishly in the cut. He struck back, but the Keyblade bounced back off the shield, rattling him slightly. He backed off, giving himself a moment to recover.

Priam's next attack hooked itself into the webbing on the Way to the Dawn instead of damaging him, but although the dark-haired warrior yanked on it, he couldn't quite pull it from Riku's hand. He unbalanced the teen, though, enough that when his next strike connected, it was minor damage. When Priam managed to hit him afterwards, it made him stumble. He steadied himself again for his next blow, which connected with the Trojan's shoulder.

Strike, block, strike, evade. Then finally the silver-haired Keybearer landed a hit that stunned the elder warrior for a good few seconds. He managed to pull himself to his feet just as Phil was coming to make sure he was down, but his counterattack missed. He was tiring. He stumbled trying to attack again, dropping to one knee, and finally raised a hand in defeat. A dark-haired, green-eyed woman ran out to embrace him, obviously figuring it was safe when Riku let the Way to the Dawn disappear and stepped back, letting him stand.

"You're quite skilled." He admitted, extending a friendly hand. "I would welcome the chance for us to fight again."

A smile tugged at the corner of Riku's mouth. It was always nice to see someone who lost graciously. "Sure." He replied. "Thanks. I needed a challenge."

Priam chuckled. "I suppose I should be grateful I managed even that." He turned to the woman at his side. "Hecuba, we should allow the matches to continue."

The dark-haired woman nodded, helping him out the doors and into the lobby. Considering, Riku instead decided to sink back into his seat, watching as Phil announced the last competitors of the day; Roxas and another warrior, Telamon of Salamis. In the end, the blond did well, although he must have been distracted by something, because he barely lost the match.

Dinner that evening was a social gathering, all the warriors in the same dining hall as breakfast, but joined by what the natives collectively referred to as 'the women', unlike that morning. The seven travellers all found themselves their own little table and laughed and chatted. The fare was very different from what the Islanders were used to; a lot of cheese and bread and salad, flavoured with a tangy oil. Although it earned them several odd looks, the boys stayed away from the wine offered at the table and stuck instead with juices and water. Mickey had himself a small cup, however, something that surprised them all.

"Man, I wouldn't've expected you to drink, King Mickey." Sora commented with a grin. The King wiggled his eyebrows, grinning himself.

"The trick is to enjoy it without overindulgin'." He explained. Then he winced. "I'll admit to have taken a time or two t'have learned that lesson."

Riku had to cough to keep from laughing. The idea of the King of Disney Castle drunk, or with a hangover, was privately hilarious. It was the same as imagining Sora having one too many; it was almost too laughable to think about.

The things you learned about people over a good meal.

Everyone else was still eating and making merry when the travellers decided to call it a night. Something told Sora they would be up for a while yet, what with the empty wine barrels some of the helpers were rolling out into the kitchen. Maybe getting some sleep would give them an advantage the next day.

* * *

_Sora was lying on his back, his legs lifted so that his knees drew about level with his shoulders. A warm, wet mouth lowered to his chest, causing his back to arch and his breath to hitch. Looking down and closing his eyes, he buried his nose in a head of silver hair, scented faintly with sweat and sea air. A soft chuckle blew from his partner's lips, and he tore himself away from the brunet's chest to look up, meeting Sora's bright blue eyes with his island-ocean turquoise ones._

_"Oh, _God_, Riku. Please, now." Sora's voice was a breathless gasp, the urgency clear when his fingers raked through the other teen's hair to pull them together. Riku smirked softly, making the kiss only long enough to taunt._

_"If you insist, Sora."_

_The feeling of skin rubbing against his opening rocked Sora's personal heat up another ten degrees. "Riku!" He wailed softly. "Damn it, stop teasing me!"_

_Riku chuckled again, the laughter deeper and huskier in his throat. "I'm getting there." He whispered against Sora's lips. "Be patient."_

_"Patient?!" The young brunet managed to sound incredulous even while breathless, something that made Riku laugh again. _

_"Sora, you're such a _virgin_." He teased. Leaning close, he nipped Sora's earlobe gently, drawing another gasp from the Keyblade Master. "I don't mind that, though. I find it satisfying to know that I'm the only one who's ever touched you." Fingertips feathered down Sora's chest. This time, one hand dropped lower...lower...and- _

_Any coherent thought Sora had a grip on at that moment completely melted when that hand gently tightened around him. Just that touch drove him so close to the edge that he squirmed, trying to push that last little bit. And then he felt another touch and discovered there was a level beyond where he'd already been, arching higher and farther than ever._

_His hands clenched into fists, crushing handfuls of the bedcovers in his fingers at that first painful inch. When he whimpered his discomfort, Riku hushed him with a gentle kiss and soft, whispered reassurances. "It's okay. Relax." _

_The feeling of warm breath in his hair soothed him a little, making it easier to let some of his tension go. As if by magic, the pain lessened. Soon he was gasping again, his hands gripping Riku's shoulders instead of the bed beneath him. He shifted, trying to push them together even more. _

_Riku laughed again, shifting at the same time. "No, no. Let me." He requested. Leaning close, he caught Sora's gaze with his own just as he took another inch. "I like to watch your eyes." He admitted, pressing a gentle kiss to the brunet's nose. "They've darkened...did you know that?"_

_"Don't care. Now, please."_

_A flashing grin touched the silver-haired teen's lips, and the resulting pull of lust had Sora dragging him close for another kiss. "Riku, please. Now." He whispered._

_And when they slid together, he realized they had far greater heights to reach._

* * *

With a gasp, Sora jerked awake. The darkness of the barracks greeted him, pressing in around him until he felt the need to fling the blankets off and sit up. Deep breaths helped to slow the pounding of his heart and aided in cooling him off, but didn't do anything to stop the tremor in his hands or the slight hitch in his breathing.

Gritting his teeth, he dragged the rest of the covers off and stood, the stone of the floor cold beneath his feet. Padding past the rows of cots, he walked out the back door of the building. Earlier, he'd seen a trough back here, like the kind farms filled with water for animals to drink.

The water was _cold_, he found, sinking to his knees beside the stone basin. He splashed some on his face and neck, washing away the sweat the dream had left. Pretty soon he was thoroughly awake and shivering, as the chill summer air ate through the light t-shirt and pyjama pants he wore. Goosebumps rose on his skin, but he didn't feel inclined to go back into the warmth of the barracks just yet.

_'Okay.'_ He thought. _'There's someone up on Olympus who's picked up on...things...and is now having fun with us. As if we weren't distracted enough _already_.'_

"Sora?"

He looked up. A slim figure in a long white dress looked back at him, violet eyes glinting dimly in the moonlight. Obviously woken from sleep just as he'd been, Meg had her hair down from its usual high ponytail and bound back in a braid, with several loose, springy curls framing her face. "Kiddo, what are you doing up so late?" She asked softly, coming over and kneeling by the trough. Looking back down at the rippling water, Sora sighed a little.

"My dreams woke me up." He admitted. Meg arched a brow.

"Bad?"

The brunet couldn't help but laugh. "No." He replied, stirring the water gently with a finger. "What about you? Why are you up?"

"Ah, don't worry about me. I'll be okay. You, on the other hand, don't look so okay." A gentle hand ruffled Sora's hair. "You need someone to talk to?"

There was silence for some time as Sora tried to decide and Meg stayed quiet to let him think. Finally, he sighed again, resting his forehead on his crossed arms.

"Have you ever been really into someone, and they were really into you, but you didn't want to show it? For...for some reason or another?"

"Oh dear." Meg chuckled. "Love problems." She canted her head slightly. "Is that what your dreams were about tonight?" The scarlet blush that spread far enough to touch the teen's ears gave her all the answer she needed. "I'm really not the girl to talk to, but I'll give you what advice I can." Gently, she tugged on Sora's chin until he was looking at her. "Don't waste your life pining. If there's hope, hang onto it, but if you're going to have to hide it forever, then let it go. Nothing is worth that kind of stress."

A tiny, watery smile touched Sora's features. "You're not insisting that I 'don't ever give up!'?" He asked. With a grin, Meg shook her head.

"Nah. I'm more practical than that." She replied. "The other Coliseum ladies can walk around with stars in their eyes and hearts on the brain. I know better." She let go of Sora's chin, standing. "You'd better go to sleep, kid. You've got another match in the morning."

Sora nodded. "I will. Thanks, Meg."

"Always a pleasure, Sora."

She walked away, leaving him to his thoughts. He stared into the water, pensive for a few minutes more before he stood and walked back into the barracks.

As he curled back up under the covers of his cot, Sora couldn't help but glance at the silver-haired teen across the aisle. Riku was turned towards the wall, laying on his front with his arms draped over his pillow. This had the effect of accenting the powerful muscles in his shoulders and arms, for all to see.

Sora's fingers twitched slightly, as if imagining how it would feel to stroke down those arms. Once he realized it, though, he sighed ruefully, turning his back to the sleeping teen.

Hopefully, he would have no more dreams tonight.

* * *

These nightly imaginings were truly beginning to irritate Riku. They were fine – in fact, they were pretty damn enjoyable – when they stayed in his subconscious where they belonged, but when they decided to make their presence known during the daytime, it was irritating and could be dangerous. Just today, Jason, the fair-haired combatant from Corinth, had taken advantage of a flashback to the previous night's dream and very nearly knocked him out with the flat of his sword in the middle of their match earlier. Luckily, it was only Riku's first loss, and Jason had been soundly trounced the day before by Theseus. Thus, the silver-haired Keybearer was not out of the running. He just needed to keep his wits for another match or two... then they could finish this stupid thing and _leave_.

Man, he was looking forward to their next visit to Radiant Garden. It meant that they could rest and regroup, and talk to Merlin about the rest of the keys before they went off searching again.

How could they _possibly_ have been to nearly a dozen worlds and still have only found four keys? It was mind-boggling. No wonder none of the other Keybearers had been able to locate all ten keys. It was maddening to think that finding them all could take months. Just that thought made him contemplate giving up, although he banished the idea immediately. He couldn't possibly do that.

_'Why not?'_ A voice within suggested. _'You're probably right, Riku. If this quest were possible, someone would have done it already, wouldn't they?'_

The voice made him scowl openly. _'I didn't realize you'd become the personification of my negativity.'_ He hissed back. Within him, Ansem laughed.

_'Only a fool would pass up the chance to needle you, Riku. It's so easily accomplished.'_

_'Sit and stew where I can't hear you, Ansem.'_ He spat. _'I don't need you whispering at me."_

"Riku? Are you okay?"

Xehanort's Heartless disappeared so quickly that his vanishing almost left a vacuum. His sudden departure caught Riku off-guard, and he shook his head before meeting Kairi's concerned gaze. "Mostly."

Her eyes narrowed and her mouth opened to speak when suddenly a commotion from the Coliseum interrupted them. Both flashing to the same possibility – that Sora could be involved and that he might need their help – spurred them back into the stadium.

To Riku's relief – and Kairi's, he imagined – Sora wasn't a part of the turmoil they'd heard. He stood by, though, looking troubled as Hercules waded in between two fighters who had thrown down their weapons and resorted to blows. Tapping into his god-strength, Hercules pulled the two of them apart, holding them away from each other.

"What happened?" The great hero demanded. One of the fighters answered; the elder and slightly taller, with a black eye and a split lip.

"He just suddenly went after me." He spat. "Just threw away all the rules of _civilized_ combat and used his fists."

"_Civilized_?!" The other struggled in Herc's grip, fighting to get at his opponent. "Fine thing for you to talk about civilized, Atreus, when you murdered your own nephews!"

Atreus glared at him. "If you hadn't stolen my _wife_, Thyestes, I wouldn't have had any reason to harm your children."

"I didn't roast her up and feed her to you, now did I?!"

"Okay, okay." Hercules grabbed them both again as they lunged for each other. "That's _enough_. Come on, let's take this someplace more private."

There was silence in the arena as Hercules directed the two of them out the doors and into the lobby of the Coliseum, but the moment the great hero left, everyone began to chatter. Sora came over to the two of them, looking rather disturbed.

"Did he just say something about eating people?" He asked, eyes wide.

"It sounded like it." Riku shrugged. "But to be perfectly honest, I'm not surprised. I don't think all the people here are completely sane."

Phil got up on his little announcer's box and shouted for quiet. "Our next competitors will be Roxas and Goofy." He read off the wax tablet in his hands. "All other competitors and spectators are asked to sit in their seats again. We'll give an announcement on the previous match when we've decided what's going on."

Obviously bothered by this turn of events, Sora sat absently. "Is it just me, or does this place suddenly have really bad luck?" He asked. "This is supposed to be a friendly competition, and now people are going at it like they want to kill each other?"

Riku shook his head. "Maybe not everyone saw it as a chance to prove their skills." He commented quietly. "Maybe some of them thought it was a good way to get rid of someone they disliked and make it seem like an accident."

The Keyblade Master made a face. "Why would someone do that?" He wondered aloud, watching as Roxas and Goofy clashed, shield on Keyblade. He saw Riku give another shrug out of the corner of his eye.

"Some people feel they have the right."

Sitting back, Sora folded his arms over his chest. "I really don't get it." He sighed gustily. "I don't know if I ever will."

"Don't expect to, Sora." The silver-haired teen advised. "I don't think anyone does."

They fell silent, watching the matches. Roxas finally beat Goofy, after some interesting shieldwork on the dog-soldier's part. Sora couldn't help grinning and calling something after him about 'using those on the Heartless next time!' He grinned back and waved over his shoulder as they left the arena.

Everyone was expecting the next match callings, but were relieved to hear Phil and Hercules' decision on the earlier fight. "Both Atreus and Thyestes will continue competing in the tournament, although they will no longer be fighting each other." Phil sounded solemn. "Our next competitors will be the Prince Telamon and Donald."

The rest of the matches seemed to follow in suit. After Telamon kicked Donald out of the running, Sora took on Prince Priam, narrowly pulling a victory out. Laertes and Peleus also clashed, the Ithacan king advancing to the next round. Theseus fought and just barely beat King Mickey to round out the day.

Walking out of the Coliseum, Sora looked up just as the stars began to come out. He grinned, remembering looking up into the same sky to see the constellation Hercules' father Zeus had made of him and Donald and Goofy. He tried to pick it out, but not enough stars were visible in the early twilight.

He turned to go back inside, but caught sight of someone slinking away from the Coliseum through the trees. His eyes narrowed; who could that be?

He crept towards the retreating figure, curious and a little wary. Realizing whoever it was probably wanted to be left alone, he stuck to the deepening shadows, watching as the figure approached the shade beneath a tree. Red-violet eyes peered out from the depths of the darkness.

"Isn't it wonderful to revenge yourself on your brother this way?" The figure in the darkness was obviously a woman, though her voice had an odd tone to it that made Sora want to block it out with his hands. The man who had snuck out to meet her – one of the brothers that had fought earlier...Thyestes, right? – nodded, though the motion seemed oddly heavy, like he was sleepwalking. Sora's eyes narrowed; was she influencing him somehow? Like, hypnosis or something?

"The bastard shall pay for my suffering, and that of my children."

Just the way he spoke, dreamlike, convinced Sora that there was something more going on here than just a conversation. Especially when the woman spoke again.

"Good." She cooed, as if to a child, and the softening of her voice made the Keybearer relax momentarily before he realized what he was doing. _'It's probably a goddess of some sort.'_ He decided. _'With that sort of power, I don't think it could be anyone else.'_

She must have beckoned, because Thyestes suddenly plodded forward, towards a shadow in the trees, with one hand outstretched. A small clay bottle dropped into his hand. "If you sneak this into his meal this evening, you shall be rid of him for good." The woman told him, making Sora's blood run cold. There was a sigh, like the wind, and suddenly Thyestes collapsed. Fighting against his usual reaction to seeing someone drop like that, the brunet backed off, hurrying back into the Coliseum.

He needed to warn Hercules, and probably Thyestes' brother as well. Someone _was_ interfering in the competition, and they didn't mind using mortals to do it. Or killing those mortals, either.

* * *

Herc was in the weight room when Sora finally tracked him down, easily lifting slabs of stone that each weighed probably twice as much as the young Islander did. He goggled at that for a second or two before shaking off his amazement. "Hey, Herc?"

He'd startled the hero, because Hercules stumbled a little, fighting to set down the stone instead of dropping it in surprise. "Hey, Sora." He puffed, finally managing to relieve himself of his burden without breaking it or shaking the ground in the process. "What's up?"

The brunet's brows knit slightly as he looked back, towards the Coliseum proper. "I think we've got a problem. Someone's influencing the heroes in the Coliseum to actually hurt each other. Maybe...maybe even kill each other."

Herc's eyes narrowed. "You sure? Who would do that?"

When Sora explained, about the woman he supposed was a goddess and her conversation with Thyestes, Hercules suddenly went very grave. "I think I might know who the problem is." He admitted. "But I'm gonna need to talk with Zeus to make sure. Can you warn Phil? Talk to Theseus, too; he's too smart to fall for a deception like that. If anything happens that Phil can't handle, Theseus can." He laid a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Watch out for your friends, too. If it's who I'm thinking of, she might be working on them, too."

Sora started in surprise at that. "But- but we're not from-"

"That might not matter. Remember, Sora, you're dealing with gods." Turning away, Hercules pulled open the second door. "Be careful. If you mess up her plans, she might look to get rid of you."

And without waiting for the Keybearer's reply, he left the room.

Deep in thought, Sora left too, heading for the dining hall. It wasn't until he'd gone several paces that he realized he hadn't mentioned the vial.

And everyone was eating at the moment. Hadn't the voice told Thyestes to put it in Atreus' 'next meal'?

He took off running, nearly overshooting a few corners in the process. His heart sank when he reached the hall to find everyone had already been served; was he too late? Hoping not, he hurried over to Roxas, Donald and Kairi, who were closest. "Guys, do you know where Atreus and Thyestes are? The brothers who were fighting earlier." He clarified, when they blinked at him in confusion. All three exchanged glances, then looked across the table at Riku, King Mickey and Goofy, who had also stopped eating and looked up at him curiously. Goofy looked around.

"Uh, I think they're over there, Sora." He pointed. "Why?"

Looking off in that direction, the Keyblade Master saw that Goofy's intuition was right, as it often was. The brothers sat at another table, farther down, across from each other and looking as if they were trying to make amends. He waved a hand. "It's no big deal." He muttered, distracted. Had Thyestes already done it? Or had their seemingly-amicable moods delayed that course of action for now? "Just stay here. I need to talk to them."

Making his way between the tables, he rounded the end and moved towards the two brothers, not noticing that both Riku and Roxas had stood to follow him. As he approached, he could hear Atreus complain of the heat, snapping irritably at his brother.

"Perhaps a walk would help?" The younger Mycenaean suggested, levering himself to his feet. It was only then he noticed the brunet Keybearer's approach, arching a brow his way. "Do you wish to speak with either of us, young one? My brother isn't at his best at the moment, perhaps it could wait another time?"

"I know he isn't. We should probably get him to one of the gods, just in case." He moved forward, gently slipping an arm around Atreus' waist when the warrior wavered. His skin was cool and clammy.

Thyestes' eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about, young one?"

"My _name_ is Sora." He could _feel_ the hero he supported weaken, in an odd, detached way, and it worried him. With his free hand, he pulled out a Potion, hoping that the healing drink could at least slow the effects of the poison or whatever it had been until he could get Atreus to one of the gods. "And you know exactly what I'm talking about, so don't say things like that."

Some of the Mycenaean's weight lifted off his shoulders, and he blinked in surprise. Roxas had ducked under Atreus' other arm. "Where are we going?" He asked. Sora shook his head.

"I don't know. One of the gods should be able to help...Apollo, maybe? He seemed like a good guy...maybe he can do something. I don't know where we'd find him, though."

"There's a shrine to Apollo inside the Coliseum." One of the other competitors who had been sitting nearby came to help; Laertes, king of the island of Ithaca, Sora recalled after a second or two of thought. He rattled off directions, then watched as the boys hurried away, leaving the rest of the competitors to wonder.

"The child must be hallucinating. What could I have possibly done to my brother to make him react in such a way?" Thyestes shrugged. Riku shot him a look.

"Sora doesn't accuse anyone of anything without proof. He's smarter than that." Although he, too, wondered what exactly Sora meant, he knew better than to doubt the brunet. He'd explain once everything had calmed down.

* * *

"Let me rest."

"Uh-uh." Sora shook his head. "We need to get you to Apollo. He'll know what to do with you."

Roxas arched a brow. "Sora, how do you even know what's wrong?"

"He's been eavesdropping, the naughty boy."

Sora froze. Ahead, in the shadows, stood the same angular shadow he'd seen beneath the trees where Thyestes had gone. Red-violet eyes peered out at him, long and thin. "Who are you, and why are you manipulating the heroes in the Coliseum?!" He demanded, deciding that he'd rather know that than the goddess' identity, for now.

"My employer wishes it." The shadow moved in such a way that it seemed like she shrugged. "I'm to make sure Hercules doesn't get himself killed in these miserable games. Now, won't you let me do my job?"

The Keyblade Master scowled. "Not if it means you're killing people." He retorted. "Unless your employer is _Hades_, I don't think they'd want that."

"Hades?" A scoff. "We haven't seen hide nor hair of his Underworldly Lowness since your last visit, Keybearer. No, I work for the Queen of the Heavens. And _she_ has given me free reign to do whatever I wish, so long as Hercules is unharmed."

Roxas' blue eyes narrowed. "The Queen of the Heavens?"

"You mean _Hera_? Hercules' _mom_?" Sora blinked in surprise. "Why would she do something like that?"

"Why would she care for any of the others? Hercules is her own flesh and blood." The goddess shrugged again. Those eyes glinted in the darkness. "And now, Keybearer, you shall have to decide: will you allow me to work as I have been, or will you try to circumvent the will of Hera?"

The Keyblade Master hesitated. He'd taken on Hades, but he'd needed Hercules' help to do it, and all the rest of the gods of Olympus had been against the Lord of the Dead at the time, so far as he'd known. True, he had more firepower on his side than he'd had against Hades, but that wasn't the point. He wasn't supposed to be interfering in the natural course of a world if the Heartless weren't involved. What if Atreus was _supposed_ to die here?

He didn't exactly like that idea.

"Eris!"

The familiar voice came from behind the group, and Sora blew out a relieved breath. Hercules would know what to do. A hand came down heavily on his shoulder. "Sora, you and Roxas get Atreus to Apollo." The great hero murmured. "I'll take care of this."

The Keybearer began to help Roxas drag Atreus towards the shrine again, but a sudden wave of cold wrapped itself around his legs, freezing him in place. He toppled with a yelp of surprise, letting the Mycenaean drop heavily to the stone floor. The warrior didn't move afterward.

"I will not allow even you, Hercules, to interfere with my work." Eris snarled. "Atreus has required a lesson for some time."

"His time hasn't come yet, Eris." Hercules shook his head. "The Fates have said that one of his descendants will repent his sins. He isn't _meant_ to die now! If Zeus himself can't go against fate, you certainly can't!"

The goddess' nails bared, long, thin, and sharp as needles. "Watch me try!"

She lunged for Hercules, but he managed to deflect her, sending her reeling. He planted a fist in the centre of her back, a shriek leaping from her lips at the impact. Furious, she spun, trying to hook him with her claws again as Sora scrambled to his feet, drawing the Keyblade. He managed to catch her in the back, the way Herc had only moments before. Obviously not a fighter, it took Eris long seconds to orient herself so she had a good eye on each of them.

She was distracted enough from Roxas that he managed to pull himself to his feet, dragging Atreus along with him. Sora was right; there was something dreadfully wrong with the Mycenaean warrior. He hadn't even stirred after hitting the floor. They had to get him to Apollo as soon as they could.

He heard Eris shriek in anger again as someone countered her blows and shook his head. Sora could handle himself, for now. He had the time to take care of Atreus. Luckily, the shrine was only just around the corner, and when he reached it, he saw the shining music god waiting for them, golden brows furrowed in worry.

"I will care for him, Roxas." He reassured the teen. "You must return to assist the Keybearer and Hercules." A familiar shout of pain startled them both. "Hurry. They will require your assistance."

Cold washed over the young blond when he returned to find Eris had thrown Sora into one of the walls, the Keyblade Master struggling back to his feet, clutching at his belly. A whirlwind of green circled him, allowing him to straighten and draw his weapon again before going after her, slicing a deep gash down her torso in his anger. She twisted out of the way of the next blow – Roxas' first – with astonishing speed, reminding everyone again that she was indeed a goddess and not human. Her counter was fierce, raking Roxas across the face with all four nails on one hand. He yelped in surprise.

Herc swung at her again, but she dodged, smaller and more lithe than he. But avoiding his blow put her in range of Sora's Keyblade, which struck the dead centre of her back, sending her toppling. She tried to gain her feet again and failed, crumpling to the floor.

Roxas stepped forward, putting the edge of Essence of Turmoil to her throat. "Anything you have to say?" He inquired coldly. She glared up at him, red-violet eyes narrowed in fury.

"Certainly not to _you_, mortal."

"Stop!"

The three fighters looked up in surprise, as did Eris. A tall, thin blonde approached, dressed in sparkling pink robes, her skin a paler hue than the garments. Hercules immediately backed off, and seeing him, Sora and Roxas did too, letting their Keyblades disappear. Eris scrambled to her feet, but a word from the newcomer stopped her from fleeing.

"Mom." Hercules walked up to her, taking her hand. "You didn't really hire Eris to mess with the Games, did you?"

Her eyes lowered. "I did. But she has obviously taken it much too far." Her bright blues shot an acid look at Eris, who scowled right back at her. "I've come to help set things right."

"If you had the _spine_, Hera, we could have done it ourselves." The Goddess of Discord snapped. "The last thing this world needs is another batch of _heroes_."

The Queen of the Gods snapped out a hand, pointing one slim finger off into the distance. Eris obviously recognized the gesture as the dismissal it was and slunk off into the shadows, disappearing. When she'd vanished, Hera turned her gaze on Roxas and Sora. "How is Atreus?"

Sora turned to look at him too, as the blond nodded. "I got him to Apollo. Apollo said he'd be all right."

"Good." Hera nodded. "He has a part to play yet." With a sigh, she shook her head. "I insist, Keybearer, that you and your companion return to the evening meal. I need a word with my son yet, but there is no reason for you to be kept from your repast."

Still a little unsure, Sora shot a look at Hercules. The Olympian hero nodded an assent. "Go on. I'll be along soon."

With a shrug, the Keyblade Master complied, tugging Roxas back to the dining hall to give Hera and Hercules a moment to talk.

* * *

"It's too bad you kids couldn't play out the whole tournament. We coulda made some real competitors outta you."

"Whaddaya mean, _real_ competitors?!" Donald squawked, rather irritated that he'd missed out on the whole of last night's fight. "We're _heroes_!"

One of Phil's brows arched sardonically. "You, Goofy and Sora may be, although I still have my doubts." He replied. "And Roxas is close, 'cause I remember a couple training sessions he stole out from under my nose last year-"

"You _do_ remember!" Roxas cried, as everyone turned to look at him in surprise. He reddened a little, realizing just how loud that had been. "The Organization sent me to gather intel on this place. Xigbar told me that joining Phil's training would help me do that." He admitted sheepishly. "I didn't really _mean_ to do it...it just kinda happened."

"But everyone else still hasn't proved their worth yet." The satyr folded his arms. "So youse guys gotta come back, you hear?"

Meg chuckled. "Don't let the boys keep you from coming back too." She advised Kairi, who giggled, shaking her head. "You're just as welcome as they are."

"She won't." Riku's voice was wry. "In fact, _she'll_ probably badger _us_ into coming back."

She nudged his ribs. "Nice to know you'll let me."

Sora had to chuckle. "She's not the only one." He admitted. "We'll be back; don't worry. Even if it's just to check in."

Hercules nodded. "We'll keep an eye out while you're gone. Eris can be a little..." He searched for a word for a second, managing to come up with, "...vindictive. I doubt she'll slink off into the sunset after this."

The Keyblade Master shot him a thumbs-up. "Just give us a yell if you need us. I'm sure someone here can get in touch with us somehow."

Herc grinned. "Thanks, Sora, everyone. We'll see you again."

* * *

So, like I said, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, but I'll keep working when I can. Hope I can get you guys something soon.

Love,

Ivy J.


End file.
